Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Buildings: Carbon Emissions

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what measures his Department has in place to (a) regulate the carbon footprint of new buildings; and in what way those regulations are monitored and (b) reported on for new builds.

Lee Rowley: The 2021 Net Zero Strategy set out Government's ambition to help the construction sector improve reporting on embodied carbon in buildings and confirmed we are exploring the potential of maximum embodied carbon levels in new buildings in the future.We have taken action to reduce the in-use emissions of buildings by introducing an uplift to energy efficiency regulations in 2021 and will shortly consult on the Future Homes and Buildings Standards which will see new homes net zero ready from 2025 onwards, thus requiring no further retrofit work as the electricity grid decarbonises. The energy performance of new buildings can be assessed by viewing the associated Energy Performance Certificates which are publicly available and are produced when the building is completed.

Housing: Fire Prevention

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the progress made to remediate fire safety defects in housing blocks by Taylor Wimpey in Putney constituency.

Lee Rowley: 49 developers, including Taylor Wimpey, have signed a contract with the Department committing to remediate life-critical fire safety defects in buildings 11 metres and over in height that they developed. The contract with each developer lists the buildings which that developer is responsible for remediating. The developer is contractually required to submit quarterly reports to the Department on progress made towards remediating those buildings, and the Department holds the developer to account against its contractual obligations. The data submitted by developers is not broken down by Parliamentary constituency, but may well include buildings in the Putney constituency which Taylor Wimpey is responsible for remediating. Later this year, the Government will publish the first report about developer-led remediation of over 1,100 buildings covered by the developer remediation contracts.

Devolution

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many officials in his Department are working on supporting devolution deals with local and combined authorities in England.

Dehenna Davison: I refer the Hon. Member to the departmental organogram published here.The breadth of the policy areas delivered through devolution means it is not possible to specify the number of officials supporting devolution and the important work of empowering local leaders and communities.

Homes for Ukraine Scheme

Olivia Blake: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will publish the number of Homes for Ukraine hosts who (a) qualify to receive the increased thank you payment and (b) do not qualify to receive the increased thank you payment because their guests have not been in the UK for more than 12 months for the 2023-24 financial year.

Olivia Blake: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many Homes for Ukraine scheme hosts (a) qualify and (b) do not qualify to receive the increased thank you payment for the financial year 2023-2024.

Felicity Buchan: The information requested is not held centrally.

Hinduism: Discrimination

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent assessment his Department has made of trends in levels of Hinduphobia.

Lee Rowley: Anti-Hindu hatred is abhorrent and has no place in our communities. The Government continues to work with police and community partners to monitor and combat it.The Home Office publishes statistics which can be found at: Hate crime, England and Wales, 2021 to 2022 - GOV.UK.

Leasehold: Service Charges

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make it his policy to (a) require housing associations to provide greater transparency on how service charges are calculated and (b) provide leaseholders with additional rights to challenge unfair increases in service charges.

Rachel Maclean: The Government strongly believes that service charges should be reasonable, transparent and communicated effectively for both tenants and leaseholders. We are committed to better protecting and empowering leaseholders by giving them more information on what their costs pay for. We will also seek to prevent unjustified legal fees when challenging costs. This will help them more effectively challenge their landlord if they consider their fees are unreasonable. We are due to bring forward further leasehold reforms later in this parliament.With regard specifically to social housing tenants living in housing associations I refer the Hon. Member to the oral answers given on 27 March 2023 (Official Report, HC, Volume 730, Column 644) and to the answers given to Question UIN 114788 on 13 January 2023 and Question UIN 86547 on 23 November 2022.

Travellers: Caravan Sites

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when he plans to amend the planning policy definition of Gypsies and Travellers in Planning Policy for Traveller Sites 2015; and whether he plans to revert to the definition used in Planning Policy for Traveller Sites 2012.

Rachel Maclean: The Secretary of State is carefully considering the policy contained in the Planning Policy Traveller Sites 2015 following the court judgment in Lisa Smith v SSLUHC [2022]

Housing: Finance

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what proportion of the £2 billion funding announced for housing projects at the Spending Review 2021 has been allocated; and when the next round of funding allocation will take place.

Rachel Maclean: At Spending Review 2021, a package of £1.8 billion investment was announced to drive economic growth, regenerate underused land and deliver transport links and community facilities. £1 billion from the Brownfield, Infrastructure and Land (BIL) programme has been distributed to Homes England, Greater Manchester Combined Authority, West Midlands Combined Authority and London. A further £360 million has been made available to local authorities and Mayoral Combined Authorities through the Brownfield Land Release Fund and the Brownfield Housing Fund. The funding will boost local areas by transforming disused sites and investing in vital infrastructure to help create vibrant communities for people to live and work, while also protecting our cherished green spaces; in England. An announcement about the allocation of the remaining funds will be made in due course.

Homelessness: Ukraine

Olivia Blake: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an estimate of the number of Ukrainian households receiving a homelessness relief duty from local authorities in England.

Olivia Blake: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the Homelessness management information - Ukrainian nationals: England, updated by his Department on 29 June 2023, if he will make an estimate of the average numbers of people in each household of Ukrainian nationals.

Felicity Buchan: The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities does not currently collect or hold information on the average household size of Ukrainian households who have had a homelessness duty accepted by an English local housing authority.Through our Homelessness Pressures Management Information, we do collect some homelessness data on Ukrainian households. As of 31 July, English local authorities have accepted 7,300 homelessness prevention and relief duties for Ukrainian households since 24 February 2022. On 31 July, English local authorities reported providing temporary accommodation for 700 Ukrainian households.Our Homelessness Pressures Management Information data is ad-hoc and voluntarily provided. It is regularly published on gov.uk.

Homelessness

Olivia Blake: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people expected to be supported by the Homelessness Prevention Fund by 31 March 2024.

Olivia Blake: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent estimate he has made of the number of people who will receive support through the Homelessness Prevention Grant.

Felicity Buchan: The Homelessness Prevention Grant is used by councils to support households that are homeless or at risk of homelessness. Data on households owed a homelessness duty is available here.

Homelessness

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much and what proportion of the funding allocated to his Department at the Spending Review in 2021 (a) has been spent on (i) rough sleeping and (ii) homelessness and (b) has not yet been allocated.

Felicity Buchan: At the last Spending Review, the Department was allocated over £2 billion to help tackle homelessness and rough sleeping.We have allocated the vast majority of this funding across our core programmes including over £1 billion through the Homelessness Prevention Grant, £433 million through the Rough Sleeping Accommodation Programme, up to £500 million through the Rough Sleeping Initiative and £187 million Rough Sleeping Drug and Alcohol Treatment Grant.

House of Commons Commission

Parliamentary Security Department: Conditions of Employment

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the House of Commons Commission, what changes were made to the terms and conditions of security staff who were transferred from the Metropolitan Police to the Parliamentary Security Department.

Sir Charles Walker: The transfer of Security staff from the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) to the Parliamentary Security Department (PSD) was undertaken in accordance with Transfer of Undertaking Protection of Employment (TUPE) regulations. Contractual terms and conditions, along with continuity of service from the MPS, were protected at the point of transfer on 1st April 2016. These included (but were not limited to) pay, pension and holiday entitlement.During a period of consultation for the transfer it was agreed with the trade unions that a number of terms and conditions would be adapted, meaning that they would be subject to some changes. Details of those terms that were adapted are provided in the Annex.Terms and conditions that were adapted (pdf, 34.2KB)

Written Questions

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the House of Commons Commission, how many and what proportion of written parliamentary questions have been carded by the Table Office in each of the last 12 months that the House was sitting.

Sir Charles Walker: The IT programmes used by the Table Office do not separately record the number or proportion of questions that have been carded. The information requested could only be established by going through each of the 62,668 questions tabled in the periods specified, which would incur disproportionate expense. However, the figures for 3 July 2023, given below, are likely to be representative:Published unamended or with style edits233 (78% of total processed) Published having been carded and subsequently discussed with Member/Member’s office28 (9%) TOTAL PUBLISHED 261Carded and not yet resolved/published23 (8%)Of which 5 information readily available, 4 duplicate question, 14 other reasonCarded and withdrawn12 (4%)Of which 1 information readily available, 5 duplicate question, 6 other reasonWithdrawn for other reasons2 TOTAL PROCESSED 298The Table Office can only put on to the Order Paper questions which comply with the rules of the House. Questions substantially the same as one already tabled are not published. If a question appears to be disorderly the Member is ‘carded’: asked to discuss with the Table Office how the question might be brought within the rules. The rules regarding questions are set out at 3.22 in Erskine May, which is available online: Rules of order regarding form and contents of questions - Erskine May - UK ParliamentThe Table Office also provides tailored briefing and coaching in drafting questions for Members and their staff.

Queen Elizabeth II: Death

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the House of Commons Commission, whether the Commission plans to publish a report on Operation Marquee.

Sir Charles Walker: The House of Commons Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23 (HC 1684), published on 19 July 2023, include detail on the delivery, cost and impact of the Lying in State in September 2022. In particular, pages 30-31 provide an overview of work undertaken while pages 38-39 detail the related expenditure.

Home Office

Asylum: MOD Wethersfield

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether there is an (a) minimum and (b) maximum length of time that people will be accommodated at MDP Wethersfield.

Robert Jenrick: The first group of asylum seekers is now at Wethersfield.We will be using a phased approach, gradually increasing the number of asylum seekers accommodated at the site over time and with the site under constant review. The site will be able to accommodate 1700 individuals when fully operational.The maximum length of stay at the site is currently between six and nine months, except where the Secretary of State is unable to find suitable onward dispersed accommodation despite reasonable efforts to do so.Furthermore, we have been applying the lessons learned at Napier Barracks to ensure that the Wethersfield site runs efficiently. We appreciate that there are fewer people at Napier but the principles of running a large accommodation site remain the same.In addition to the checks against policing and immigration databases, at Manston, those individuals identified for the site will be subject to a suitability assessment. Guidance on the suitability criteria used can be found at Allocation of accommodation. Each person’s suitability will be assessed at regular intervals and if they are no longer suitable for any reason, they will be moved to alternative accommodation.All asylum seekers in the UK may contact Migrant Help 24 hours a day, 365 days a year if they need help, advice, or guidance, that includes raising issues relating to safeguarding.The asylum seekers selected to move to Wethersfield were new arrivals. These asylum seekers had been placed in short stay accommodation pending completion of the asylum registration process and an onward move to contingency accommodation to be arranged. The applicants selected were notified of the transport arrangements by the accommodation provider, and around 24 hours notice was given.An Equality Impact Assessment (EqIA) for Wethersfield has been completed and is currently under a routine review. The EqIA will be monitored and reviewed quarterly.All the asylum seekers staying at the Wethersfield site will receive appropriate access to legal advice provisions, and legal representatives will be made available through both in-person visits and online videoconferencing. The site will facilitate pre-booked access for legal representatives to visit, including out of hours visits where required, with provision of dedicated space for in-person conversations with asylum seekers, and appropriate videoconferencing technology will also be provided on-site to facilitate virtual meetings. Migrant Help will signpost all asylum seekers to the relevant Legal Providers. Due to the virtual provisions for legal access on site, access to sufficient legal representation for Wethersfield will not be constrained by the capacity nor expertise of legal providers within the local area alone.Small boat crossings are dangerous, unnecessary and put lives at risk. There have been appalling and preventable tragedies in the English Channel which must stop. We aim to deter illegal entry to the UK, break the business model of people smugglers and protect the lives of those they endanger. Migrants are intercepted by Border Force and brought to facilities in Dover to begin processing their asylum claims.Full screening of people’s identity, security checks, initial asylum screening and processing is undertaken at Western Jet Foil in Dover and Manston, Kent. Migrants are then moved to suitable accommodation locations as quickly as possible.In terms of healthcare, extensive work has been undertaken with local and national health partners, including the Multi Agency Forum (MAF) to work through the specifics of healthcare provision being provided on the site. The health subgroup of the MAF was set up specifically to look at how we minimise the impact on local health services and facilitate primary health care on site which has now been established. Financial support is being provided to NHS Mid and South Essex, and the onsite primary health care service will register residents so that is no need to register with local GP practices.Upon arrival in the UK, all individuals are offered a health check at Western Jet Foil in Dover and Manston, Kent. If necessary, healthcare practitioners at Manston administer medical care. On arrival at Manston, individuals are offered a diphtheria vaccination in line with current UKHSA recommendations in response to the outbreak in this population.The Home Office has procedures in place to support individuals with potential symptoms of an infectious disease, including isolation spaces within Wethersfield and a designated isolation hotel. The Home Office receives advice and guidance where needed from the local UKHSA Health Protection Team on management of individuals and contacts with a suspected infectious disease. Anyone with symptoms of an infectious disease is made to isolate and can only enter the asylum system once assessed by doctor and deemed to be non-infectious.The onsite provider has prior experience in meeting the health needs of asylum seekers.If you would like to put forward specific proposals, please do contact the Home Office at: rasiengagementhubregionalconsultation@homeoffice.gov.uk(opens in a new tab)(opens in a new tab) and officials will happily discuss this in greater detail with you.

Deportation: Albania

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Albanian nationals have been removed from the UK since 2013.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office publishes data on returns in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on returns by nationality are published in table Ret_D01 of the ‘Returns detailed datasets’. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relates to December 2023. Additionally, the Home Office publishes a high-level overview of the data in the ‘summary tables’. The ‘contents’ sheet contains an overview of all available data on returns by nationality.Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.

Kent Intake Unit: Children

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish the age ranges of unaccompanied children detained at the Kent Intake Unit since 1 January 2023.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office has no plans to publish data on the age range of unaccompanied children detained at the Kent Intake Unit at this time.

British Nationality: British Overseas Territories

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many foreign nationals have been granted British overseas territories citizenship in each of the past five years.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office does not currently publish this data, due to ongoing developments with the underlying data systems. Historic data up to 2018 can be found in Table Cit_03 in the citizenship summary tables.

Sudan: Asylum

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to resume family reunification for Sudanese nationals following the closure of the visa application centre in Khartoum; and if he make a statement.

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he is taking steps to help secure safe routes to the UK for Sudanese nationals fleeing violence in Sudan.

Robert Jenrick: The UK has a proud history of supporting refugees. Since 2015, we have offered a place to over 533,000 people seeking safety in the UK.The UK continues to welcome refugees through our existing resettlement schemes which include the global UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS), Community Sponsorship and the Mandate Resettlement Scheme. The UK is proud to have welcomed Sudanese nationals through both the UK Resettlement Scheme and Community Sponsorship in 2021 and 2022.While our safe and legal routes are some of the most generous anywhere, we cannot accommodate everyone who wants to come to the UK, and we are not able to open a bespoke route for every situation. The UK has no plans to introduce a designated scheme for Sudanese refugees.

Asylum: MOD Wethersfield

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether people accommodated at Wethersfield were transferred from Manston Short-term Holding Facility.

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the level of healthcare needs that residents at the proposed new asylum accommodation centre at MDP Wethersfield will have; what healthcare provision will be available on-site; whether residents will be registered with local GPs off-site; what estimate she has made of the number of GP practices in the local area; and what assessment she has made of the (a) capacity of those practices to take on new patients and (b) levels of experience in working with asylum seekers and refugees.

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has carried out an Equality Impact Assessment for the new asylum accommodation centre at MDP Wethersfield.

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether a legal advice provision is available at the new asylum accommodation centre at MDP Wethersfield; and whether she has made an (a) estimate of the number of legal firms in the local area and (b) assessment of whether local legal firms have the (i) capacity and (ii) necessary expertise to take on clients from that centre.

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what criteria and process will be used to determine whether a person seeking asylum is suitable to be accommodated at MDP Wethersfield; whether the criteria and process will be the same as those in her Department's Allocation of Accommodation policy for Napier Barracks; and what changes have been made to the criteria and process for Napier Barracks since the High Court found that that they were flawed and unlawful in June 2021.

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department is taking steps to monitor the suitability of people for accommodation at the MDP Wethersfield site.

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been transferred to MDP Weathersfield site since 12 July 2023; and how many people are accommodated at the site.

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, where people transferred to MDP Wethersfield were previously accommodated.

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether there is an (a) minimum and (b) maximum length of time that people will be accommodated at MDP Wethersfield.

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much notice people were given of their transfer to MDP Wethersfield.

Robert Jenrick: The first group of asylum seekers is now at Wethersfield.We will be using a phased approach, gradually increasing the number of asylum seekers accommodated at the site over time and with the site under constant review. The site will be able to accommodate 1700 individuals when fully operational.The maximum length of stay at the site is currently between six and nine months, except where the Secretary of State is unable to find suitable onward dispersed accommodation despite reasonable efforts to do so.Furthermore, we have been applying the lessons learned at Napier Barracks to ensure that the Wethersfield site runs efficiently. We appreciate that there are fewer people at Napier but the principles of running a large accommodation site remain the same.In addition to the checks against policing and immigration databases, at Manston, those individuals identified for the site will be subject to a suitability assessment. Guidance on the suitability criteria used can be found at Allocation of accommodation. Each person’s suitability will be assessed at regular intervals and if they are no longer suitable for any reason, they will be moved to alternative accommodation.All asylum seekers in the UK may contact Migrant Help 24 hours a day, 365 days a year if they need help, advice, or guidance, that includes raising issues relating to safeguarding.The asylum seekers selected to move to Wethersfield were new arrivals. These asylum seekers had been placed in short stay accommodation pending completion of the asylum registration process and an onward move to contingency accommodation to be arranged. The applicants selected were notified of the transport arrangements by the accommodation provider, and around 24 hours notice was given.An Equality Impact Assessment (EqIA) for Wethersfield has been completed and is currently under a routine review. The EqIA will be monitored and reviewed quarterly.All the asylum seekers staying at the Wethersfield site will receive appropriate access to legal advice provisions, and legal representatives will be made available through both in-person visits and online videoconferencing. The site will facilitate pre-booked access for legal representatives to visit, including out of hours visits where required, with provision of dedicated space for in-person conversations with asylum seekers, and appropriate videoconferencing technology will also be provided on-site to facilitate virtual meetings. Migrant Help will signpost all asylum seekers to the relevant Legal Providers. Due to the virtual provisions for legal access on site, access to sufficient legal representation for Wethersfield will not be constrained by the capacity nor expertise of legal providers within the local area alone.Small boat crossings are dangerous, unnecessary and put lives at risk. There have been appalling and preventable tragedies in the English Channel which must stop. We aim to deter illegal entry to the UK, break the business model of people smugglers and protect the lives of those they endanger. Migrants are intercepted by Border Force and brought to facilities in Dover to begin processing their asylum claims.Full screening of people’s identity, security checks, initial asylum screening and processing is undertaken at Western Jet Foil in Dover and Manston, Kent. Migrants are then moved to suitable accommodation locations as quickly as possible.In terms of healthcare, extensive work has been undertaken with local and national health partners, including the Multi Agency Forum (MAF) to work through the specifics of healthcare provision being provided on the site. The health subgroup of the MAF was set up specifically to look at how we minimise the impact on local health services and facilitate primary health care on site which has now been established. Financial support is being provided to NHS Mid and South Essex, and the onsite primary health care service will register residents so that is no need to register with local GP practices.Upon arrival in the UK, all individuals are offered a health check at Western Jet Foil in Dover and Manston, Kent. If necessary, healthcare practitioners at Manston administer medical care. On arrival at Manston, individuals are offered a diphtheria vaccination in line with current UKHSA recommendations in response to the outbreak in this population.The Home Office has procedures in place to support individuals with potential symptoms of an infectious disease, including isolation spaces within Wethersfield and a designated isolation hotel. The Home Office receives advice and guidance where needed from the local UKHSA Health Protection Team on management of individuals and contacts with a suspected infectious disease. Anyone with symptoms of an infectious disease is made to isolate and can only enter the asylum system once assessed by doctor and deemed to be non-infectious.The onsite provider has prior experience in meeting the health needs of asylum seekers.

Asylum: Hotels

Stuart C McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the press release entitled Thousands of asylum seekers to be moved out of hotels, published by her Department on 5 June 2023, in which five countries the deport first, appeal process has restarted; and in which 21 countries her Department is seeking to set up video rooms after receiving necessary consents to establishing live link evidence.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Secretary wrote to the Chair of HASC on 30 August 2023, with the details of the first five countries; the letter will be published by HASC in due course.

Migrants and Overseas Students: Health Services and Visas

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of increasing the cost of (a) the immigration health surcharge and (b) student visas on (i) numbers of international students and (ii) international student diversification in the UK.

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with (a) the Russell Group, (b) Universities UK and (c) other sector stakeholders on the potential impact of increasing the cost of (i) the immigration health surcharge and (ii) student visas on the higher education sector.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office is increasing application fees across a range of immigration and nationality routes, including for people coming to live, work and study in the UK. Increasing application fees, together with the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS), helps to fund vital services and allowing wider funding to be prioritised for public sector pay awards.We will lay regulations and legislation in the Autumn to amend the immigration and nationality fees and the IHS levels, which will set out which immigration routes are impacted and will be accompanied by full economic impact assessments.We keep fees and IHS levels under review.

Asylum: Employment

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential effect of asylum seekers being granted permission to work three months after commencing an asylum claim on the economy.

Robert Jenrick: There are no plans.

Asylum: Employment

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her Department will waive the requirement for asylum seekers to seek employment from the shortage occupations list for those asylum seekers who have waited for a decision on asylum claims for more than one year.

Robert Jenrick: Asylum seekers who are in the UK asylum system and have had their asylum claim outstanding for 12 months or more, through no fault of their own, are allowed to work. Those permitted to work are restricted to jobs on the Shortage Occupations List (SOL), which is based on expert advice from the independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC). The list comprises skilled jobs where there is an identified national shortage which is sensible to fill, at least in part, through immigration. More information regarding MAC is available at: Migration Advisory Committee - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). It is important that our policy approach distinguishes between those who need protection and those seeking to work here who can apply for a work visa under the Immigration Rules. Therefore, at present there are no plans to waive the requirements to seek employment via the SOL. Asylum seekers do not need to make perilous journeys in order to seek employment in the United Kingdom. There are various safe and legal routes for those seeking to work in the UK under the Points Based System.

Visas: Applications

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking reduce waiting times for decisions on visa applications for people who have already provided all the required documents.

Robert Jenrick: The majority of our visa routes are currently operating within their global customer service standards across all of the main legal migration routes for customers who make an entry clearance application from overseas. If exceptional compelling and compassionate circumstances are raised, these will be considered in the usual way.Details of current performance against these customer service standards are updated regularly and can be found at:Visa decision waiting times: applications outside the UK - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)(opens in a new tab)

Migrant Workers: Construction

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department is taking steps to (a) protect from exploitation and (b) monitor the employment conditions of construction workers with Skilled Worker visas.

Robert Jenrick: All visa holders are entitled to the same employment protections as resident workers. Nonetheless, the Skilled Worker route also includes a range of additional protections to ensure the welfare of migrant workers. These include minimum salary requirements to ensure workers receive a fair wage for the work they are sponsored to do, and an English language requirement which, as well as helping workers to integrate, ensures they are better able to understand their rights, protect themselves from exploitation and seek help where needed.Sponsors of workers are monitored to ensure that workers are paid appropriately and not otherwise exploited. This includes regular checks with HMRC. Any discrepancies found or allegations of exploitation made are investigated and, if appropriate, action is taken against the sponsor.

Passports

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) adult and (b) child passports her Department has processed in the last twelve months.

Robert Jenrick: The number of passport applications received is published quarterly in HM Passport Office’s transparency data. The most recent published data can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hm-passport-office-data-q4-2022(opens in a new tab)

Hospitality Industry: Vacancies

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will accept the Migration Advisory Committee’s recommendation that roles in hospitality should be added to the Shortage of Occupation List.

Robert Jenrick: In the Migration Advisory Committee’s (MAC) review of the hospitality sector earlier this year they did not recommend adding any roles to the Shortage Occupation List. The review can be viewed at: Construction and Hospitality Shortage Review (publishing.service.gov.uk) The MAC are due to submit their full review of the Shortage Occupation List later this year, and the Government will carefully consider their recommendations once received.

Immigration: Fees and Charges

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the oral contribution by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 13 July 2023, Official report, column 526, what the changes to immigration fees will be.

Robert Jenrick: The cost of most work and visit visas will increase by 15%. The cost of study visas, certificates of sponsorship, settlement, citizenship, wider entry clearance and leave to remain visas, and priority visas will increase by at least 20%.We will also equalise costs for students and for those using a priority service so people pay the same whether they apply from within the UK or from outside the UK.We will lay Regulations in the Autumn that will set out the specific changes to immigration and nationality fees in more detail.

Asylum: Passenger Ships

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much her Department has spent on procuring cruise ships to accommodate asylum seekers as of 18 July 2023.

Robert Jenrick: There is an urgent need to reduce reliance on hotels to accommodate asylum seekers, to reduce cost to taxpayer and to better manage community impacts. In exploring potential alternative large sites, we continue to consider all available options to source appropriate and cost-effective temporary accommodation.Vessels have been used safely and successfully by Scottish and Dutch Governments over past year as accommodation.Other European Governments, in the same situation of needing to provide increased accommodation capacity, are using vessels.

Asylum: Albania

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to help Albanian asylum seekers at serious risk or violence from gangs in Albania.

Robert Jenrick: Every asylum claim is assessed on it’s merits.

Refugees: Afghanistan

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that there is an adequate amount of accommodation for refugees arriving from Afghanistan through the (a) Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme and (b) Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy.

Robert Jenrick: Moving into suitable accommodation will help those relocating and resettling to rebuild their lives in the UK, put down roots, gain employment, and have reliable access to public services like education and healthcare. The government has provided £285 million of new funding to local authorities supporting the Afghan resettlement schemes. This includes £35 million of new funding to enable local authorities to provide increased support for Afghan households to move from hotels into settled accommodation and a £250 million expansion of the Local Authority Housing Fund to help councils to source homes to house Afghans currently in bridging accommodation.More information regarding additional funding being offered to Local Authorities and Councils can be found here:UK government support for resettled Afghans in bridging accommodation factsheet – April 2023 - Home Office in the media (blog.gov.uk)

Refugees: Afghanistan

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps people who has assisted the British forces in Afghanistan who are at serious risk of harm from the Taliban can they take to seek sanctuary in the UK.

Robert Jenrick: 24,600 Afghans have been brought to the UK so far. The Government welcomes its responsibility to those who have worked for, and alongside, British forces in conflict zones.Any current or former staff directly employed by, or for, the UK Government and assessed to be at serious risk of threat to life are eligible to apply for the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP).  To support eligible people in Afghanistan in applying for the ARAP, we have made information available at:Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy: further information on eligibility criteria, offer details and how to apply - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Asylum: Applications

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of asylum seekers were waiting for their applications for asylum to be processed in each of the last 12 months.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on asylum applications awaiting a decision can be found in table Asy_D03 of the ‘asylum and resettlement detailed datasets’. Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbooks. Please note the data show a snapshot as at the last day of each quarter, rather than the number of asylum applications awaiting a decision over the entire quarter. The latest data relates to as at 31 March 2023. Data as at 30 June 2023 will be published on 24 August 2023. Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.

Asylum: Housing

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether warning letters sent to her Department by asylum accommodation providers are considered during the asylum application process.

Robert Jenrick: Warning letters are provided where there has been a breach in the conditions of asylum support. They are not taken into consideration during the substantive asylum application process because they bear no relevance to the substance of the claim.Asylum support is provided on the basis that a supported person and any dependants they have adhere to the terms and conditions attached to it. A breach of the conditions of support may also lead an early suspension or discontinuation of support depending on the severity of the breach. Full details of the conditions of support can be found in the policy guidance on gov.uk. Conditions of support: caseworker guidance - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Asylum: Housing

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reasons asylum accommodation providers are required to inform her Department of warning letters they have issued to tenants.

Robert Jenrick: Asylum seekers are clearly advised of the expectations the Home Office and our providers have for them to behave responsibly while they are accommodated in our properties and not to engage in any form of criminal activity.All incidents are reported to the Home Office immediately by the providers which is a contractual requirement. We then work with the provider to put additional measures in place, if required. This will include working with other statutory bodies including the Police to investigate any potential criminal activities.

Migrants: Health Services

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of increases to the Immigration Health Surcharge on household debt for migrant workers.

Robert Jenrick: Regulations will be laid in Autumn to amend the Immigration Health Surcharge (Heath Charge) Order and a full economic impact assessment will be prepared.The expectation of the Government is that migrants coming to the UK to work should be able to maintain and support themselves, reflecting the principle that immigration to our country should bring economic benefits.The Immigration Health Surcharge rates have not increased since 2020, and the cost of providing public services has increased in that time. It is right that we keep the IHS level under review to ensure that it reflects the genuine cost to the NHS of providing healthcare to those who pay it.

Abortion: Demonstrations

Andrew Lewer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the prosecution decision in the case of Adam Smith-Connor for praying near an abortion clinic; and what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of Section 9 of the Public Order Act and safe access zones on the protection of freedom of thought and assembly outside abortion clinics.

Chris Philp: Ahead of the commencement of section 9 of the Public Order Act 2023, the College of Policing and the Crown Prosecution Service are updating relevant public order guidance and training to reflect the inclusion of the offence of interference with access to or provision of abortion services.In accordance with human rights obligations, the College of Policing and the Crown Prosecution Service are required to consider the rights provided under Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), including the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, which is an absolute right under Article 9 of the ECHR, Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and directly linked to freedom of opinion in Article 10 of the ECHR. As an absolute right, there can be no legitimate justification on the part of the public authority to limit, interfere or otherwise penalise persons for their exercise of the right to freedom of thought.Public bodies must also consider Article 11 of the ECHR (freedom of assembly and association), recognising this is a qualified right, which can sometimes be infringed upon to uphold other rights.

Serious Violence Reduction Orders

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on what basis the (a) number and (b) location of the Serious Violence Reduction Orders pilot police areas were chosen.

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Serious Violence Reduction Orders have been issued in each month since the powers were introduced; and if she will provide a breakdown of those figures by police force area.

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on how many occasions stop and search powers have been used under a Serious Violence Reduction Order in each month since those powers were introduced; and if she will provide a breakdown of those figures by police force area.

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on how many occasions a stop and search conducted under a Serious Violence Reduction Order has led to an immediate arrestin each month since those powers were introduced; and if she will provide a breakdown of those figures by police force area.

Chris Philp: Serious Violence Reduction Orders (SVROs) are a new civil order being piloted in four police forces: Thames Valley, Merseyside, Sussex, and West Midlands. The orders provide the police the powers to stop and search convicted knife offenders.These four forces have been selected as they have the required volume of knife crime or offensive weapons offenders per force as well as a wide range of demographics to test the impact and effectiveness of the orders. Piloting in these four forces also allows for the effectiveness of SVROs to be tested in both urban and semi-urban forces.SVROs are being robustly evaluated by our independent evaluator, Ecorys. Following the conclusion of the pilot we will lay a report in Parliament on the operation of the pilot, which will include full details on the number of SVROs issued and the related stop and search and arrest data.In addition, the Home Office has expanded its 2023/24 stop and search data collection to capture information on searches which have taken place under a Serious Violence Reduction Order. These data will be available at Police Force Area level and are likely to be published at the end of 2024.

Abortion: Demonstrations

Sir Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the implementation of the Public Order Act 2023, what support her Department is providing to local councils that are managing protestors outside facilities providing abortion care.

Chris Philp: It is completely unacceptable that anyone should feel harassed or intimidated when trying to access, provide or facilitate abortion services.The Police and Local Authorities already have powers to restrict harmful protests and prevent antisocial behaviour.The Public Order Act 2023 received Royal Assent on 2 May. The timescales for commencing the new Section 9 offence of interference with access to, or provision of, abortion services will be confirmed in due course.

Police: Warwickshire

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police officers were employed by Warwickshire Police in each year since 2010.

Chris Philp: The Home Office collects and publishes data on the size of the police workforce in England and Wales, broken down by Police Force Area (PFA), on a bi-annual basis in the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin which can be accessed here: Police workforce England and Wales statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)Information on the number of police officers in Warwichshire as at 31 March each year, from 2007 to 2022, on a full-time equivalent (FTE) and headcount basis, can be found in the ‘Workforce Open Data Table’ here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1093587/open-data-table-police-workforce-270722.odsThe next release of ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin, which will cover the situation as at 31 March 2023, is scheduled for release on Wednesday 26th July at 9:30am.While the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin remains the key measure of the size of the police workforce, throughout the Police Officer Uplift Programme, the Home Office also published a quarterly update on the number of officers (headcount terms only) in England and Wales, also broken down by PFA. Data as at 31 March 2023 are available here: Police Officer Uplift, quarterly update to March 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)The latest provisional data from the ‘Police Officer Uplift’ statistics shows, as at 31 March 2023, across England and Wales, there are over 149,500 police officers, the highest number of police officers on record, surpassing the previous peak of 146,030 in March 2010.

Abortion: Demonstrations

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her Department's timeline is for introducing safe access zones around facilities providing abortion care in England and Wales.

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department are taking to support local councils to manage protestors outside facilities providing abortion care while awaiting the implementation of safe access zones.

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to publish plans for the implementation of safe access zones before 27 September 2023.

Chris Philp: It is completely unacceptable that anyone should feel harassed or intimidated when trying to access, provide or facilitate abortion services.The Police and Local Authorities already have powers to restrict harmful protests and prevent antisocial behaviour.The Public Order Act 2023 received Royal Assent on 2 May. The timescales for commencing the new Section 9 offence of interference with access to, or provision of, abortion services will be confirmed in due course.

Road Traffic Offences: Disqualification

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what data her Department holds on enforcement of the maximum driving disqualification.

Chris Philp: The Home Office does not hold data on the enforcement of the maximum driving disqualification.

Cabinet Office

Ministry of Justice: Government Property Agency

Chris Stephens: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what facility management services the Government Property Agency will provide the Ministry of Justice in 2023.

Alex Burghart: The Government Property Agency does not provide facilities management services to the Ministry of Justice.

Earl Mountbatten of Burma: Diaries

Sir Julian Lewis: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 18 July 2023 to Question 193280 on Earl Mountbatten of Burma: Diaries, how much his Department spent on (a) barristers and (b) other lawyers as part of the (i) litigation related to the First-tier Tribunal and (ii) freedom of information requests made by Dr Andrew Lownie on the Mountbatten diaries and letters.

Alex Burghart: The Cabinet Office has worked with the University of Southampton to support the release of the Mountbatten archive, whilst ensuring sensitive and official information is handled appropriately and in line with the Freedom of Information Act and Data Protection Act. Dr Lownie lost his appeal against the Cabinet Office, but continued to seek costs in a separate application. This application was rejected by the First Tier Tribunal and permission to appeal at the Upper Tribunal was also rejected. The final legal costs relating to the First Tier Tribunal hearings and associated litigation regarding this archive are £180,454. This relates to 5 appeals EA/2020/0021, EA/2020/0026, EA/2020/0058, EA/2020/0059 and EA/2021/0125 as well as a further 5 related appeals and application to seek costs including UA-2022-001422, 001425, 001427, 001428 and 001429-GIA. These costs include those incurred by the Cabinet Office for external legal counsel and work by the Government Legal Department.The cost of officials’ time, including Cabinet Office legal advisers’, is not recorded against each Freedom of Information request.

Queen Elizabeth II: Monuments

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of commissioning a national memorial to honour Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II by public subscription.

Alex Burghart: The Government and Royal Household announced on 3 September the creation of The Queen Elizabeth Memorial Committee. The Committee will develop proposals for both a permanent memorial, and a national legacy programme that will allow everyone in the UK to commemorate Queen Elizabeth’s life of service. The UK Government will support the proposals, and will consider funding options as proposals develop.

Cabinet Office: National Union of Journalists

Grahame Morris: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will invite representatives from the National Union of Journalists to participate in his Department’s information user rights group.

Alex Burghart: I refer the Member to the answer I gave on 20 July 2023 (UIN 194409).Groups representing the media were invited to its inaugural meeting held on 4 July 2023.

Mitie: Government Departments

Chris Stephens: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which Departments are in the Mitie Affiliate Cluster.

Chris Stephens: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which departmental buildings are part of the Mitie Affiliate Cluster.

Alex Burghart: GPA currently outsources Workplace Services to MITIE to the following organisations and at following locations. This contract was competitively tendered to ensure it provides the best value for money to the taxpayer.Building List Ashford, International House Basingstoke, Priestley House, Priestley Road Birmingham, Quinton Business Park Carlisle, Victoria Place Carmarthen, Ty Myrddin Cheltenham, St James House East Kilbride, Eaglesham Road, Abercrombie House Glasgow, Cornerstone Inverness, Longman Road London, 10 South Colonnade London, 22-26 Whitehall London, 35 Great Smith Street London, 70-72 Whitehall London, Admiralty House Whitehall London, Dover House, 66 Whitehall London, The Whitechapel Building Norwich, Rosebery Court Central Avenue Tadley near Basingstoke, Cottington Hill  Department listHealth and Safety ExecutiveForeign, Commonwealth & Development OfficeCabinet OfficeScotland OfficeGovernment Digital Service

Department for Work and Pensions

Pensioners: Cost of Living

Sir David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent steps his Department has taken to help support pensioners with increases in the cost of living.

Laura Trott: The Government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living which is why we are providing total support of over £94bn over 2022/23 and 2023/24 to help households and individuals with their rising bills. From April 2023, State Pensions, including the Pension Credit Standard Minimum Guarantee, were increased by 10.1%, in line with prices in the year to September 2022. Over 8 million UK households on eligible means tested benefits, including the 1.4 million pensioners currently in receipt of Pension Credit, will receive additional Cost of Living Payments totalling up to £900 in the 2023/24 financial year. In addition, over 8 million pensioner households will receive a £300 pensioner Cost of Living Payment as a top up to their winter fuel payment later this year increasing payments to £500 for households with someone aged 66-79 and £600 for households with someone aged 80 and over. Specific statistics relating to the pensioner Cost of Living Payments are not available. However, the latest available winter fuel payment statistics (2021/22) show that 14,271 customers in Bexleyheath and Crayford received a winter fuel payment. We expect a similar number of customers will receive the pensioner Cost of Living Payment in 2022/23 and 2023/24. Pension Credit provides vital financial support to pensioners on a low income and we want all eligible pensioners to claim it. That is why we have been running a comprehensive communications campaign since April 2022. Earlier this year we boosted our campaign with extensive television adverts which highlighted that Pension Credit is worth £3,500 a year on average. Most recently on 17 July we launched a new and innovative Pension Credit “Invitation to Claim” trial which will involve DWP sending letters to approximately 2,500 pensioner households in 10 Local Authorities across Great Britain identified via Housing Benefit data as being most likely to be entitled to Pension Credit encouraging them to contact DWP and make a claim.

Offshore Fixed Structures: Repairs and Maintenance

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent discussions he has had with representatives of (a) duty holders, (b) contractors and (c) trade unions in the offshore oil and gas industry on backlogs of safety critical maintenance work on operational oil and gas installations on the UK continental shelf.

Mims Davies: In addition to normal regulatory activities the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) regularly attend meetings of Offshore Energies UK’s (OEUK) Maintenance Backlog Task Finish Group. HSE met with Unite and RMT representatives to discuss such backlogs on 12th May and 14th June 2023 respectively.

Offshore Industry: Health and Safety

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many safety case assessments the Health and Safety Executive has received from duty holders in the offshore oil and gas sector since 2018-19 .

Mims Davies: From 2019 to 2023 the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) received 304 safety cases from duty holders in the oil and gas sector.

Offshore Fixed Structures: Repairs and Maintenance

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a mandatory requirement for duty holders to report all data relating to safety critical maintenance work on operational oil and gas installations on the UK Continental Shelf; and if he will make a statement.

Mims Davies: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) considers its current approach, of annually requesting specific data relating to safety critical (and other) maintenance work on oil and gas production installations from duty holders, to be sufficient for its regulatory purposes.

Offshore Fixed Structures: Health and Safety

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, which offshore oil and gas installations on the UK Continental Shelf established a safety committee in line with Regulation 19 of the Offshore Installations (Safety Representatives and Safety Committees) Regulations 1989 in each year since 2019.

Mims Davies: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) does not collect and record this information. HSE’s intervention programme samples duty holder compliance with the Offshore Installations (Safety Representatives and Safety Committees) Regulations 1989 on an ongoing basis.

Offshore Fixed Structures: Repairs and Maintenance

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an estimate of the average backlog of safety-critical maintenance work on oil and gas installations in the North Sea; and if he will compare that backlog with the figures released in the Health and Safety Report 2022 published by Offshore Energies UK.

Mims Davies: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) focuses on how effectively duty holders are managing the potential safety risks of their safety-critical maintenance backlogs. HSE does not estimate backlog figures in the way Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) does, it focuses on the risk profile of assets and uses this in targeting duty holders who present the greatest risk.

Offshore Fixed Structures: Repairs and Maintenance

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the oil and gas industry’s guidance on Maintenance Backlog Measurement, Interpretation and Management Guideline, issued on 2 March 2022, on the (a) measurement, (b) recording and (c) clearance of all categories of safety critical maintenance backlogs on installations on the UK continental hhelf.

Mims Davies: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) expects duty holders to use the Guideline as part of their overall approach to maintenance management. Alongside this HSE has a pro-active intervention programme with duty holders which includes checking on the effectiveness of their maintenance management systems, including safety-critical maintenance backlogs, on their installations. The programme is informed by the individual duty holder’s responses to the HSE maintenance management backlog questionnaire. HSE checks the effectiveness of the duty holder’s arrangements during its onshore and offshore interventions. HSE’s current focus is on the duty holder’s progress in clearing their safety critical maintenance backlog.

Offshore Fixed Structures: Repairs and Maintenance

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, which duty holders in the North Sea oil and gas industry participate in the voluntary reporting scheme for safety-critical maintenance work on offshore oil and gas installations.

Mims Davies: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) does not hold this information. A voluntary scheme is administered by Offshore Energy UK (OEUK), where its members report on a quarterly basis.

Offshore Fixed Structures: Health and Safety

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent steps he has taken to assess the safety of grating systems for workers on offshore (a) fixed and (b) mobile oil and gas platforms.

Mims Davies: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) recently issued a Safety Alert highlighting the unsafe use of floor grating systems which can be found here. HSE has a pro-active intervention programme with duty holders which includes their asset integrity management systems and takes appropriate actions based on its findings.

Offshore Industry: Working Hours

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, which contractor companies in the offshore oil and gas industry require their employees to work three week-on, three week-off shift patterns on production installations.

Mims Davies: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) does not collect or hold this information.

Offshore Industry: Health and Safety

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what guidance his Department issues to duty holders in the North Sea oil and gas industry are their legal obligations to train (a) staff and (b) contractors to comply with the Offshore Installations (Offshore Safety Directive) (Safety Case etc.) Regulations 2015.

Mims Davies: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) publishes the “Offshore Installations (Offshore Safety Directive) (Safety Case etc) Regulations 2015 (SCR 2015) – Guidance on Regulations” which is available from its website HSE Offshore: Safety cases .Guidance on training is also provided in HSE’s publications “A guide to the Offshore Installations and Pipelines Works (Management and Administration) Regulations 1995” (“MAR”) A guide to the Offshore Installations and Pipeline Works Regulations 1995 (Second edition) - L70 (hse.gov.uk) and “Prevention of fire explosion, and emergency response on offshore installations” Offshore Installations (Prevention of Fire and Explosion, and Emergency Response) Regulations 1995 (“PFEER”) PFEER .

Offshore Industry: Health and Safety

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate he has made of the rate of compliance by operators in the offshore oil and gas industry with the requirements of the Offshore Installations (Offshore Safety Directive) (Safety Case etc.) Regulations 2015.

Mims Davies: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) does not collect data on the rate of compliance. HSE has a pro-active intervention programme for assessing duty holders’ compliance with the requirements of the Offshore Installations (Offshore Safety Directive) (Safety Case etc.) Regulations 2015. It is an on-going requirement for duty holders to comply with the safety cases for each of their installations.

Universal Credit: Private Rented Housing

Ms Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 17 July 2023 to Question 191729 on Universal Credit: Private Rented Housing, for what reason he did not supply the information requested in that Question on how many and what proportion of those households in receipt of universal credit with the housing element in payment had rents that exceeded the local housing allowance in (a) March 2020, (b) March 2021, (c) March 2022 and (d) March 2023.

Mims Davies: Due to an administrative error a second attachment was not uploaded as part of the response to PQ 191729: it has now been amended, and a copy of the second attachment has also been sent directly to you along with a letter explaining. I apologise for any inconvenience caused.

Department for Work and Pensions: Remote Working

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what their Departments policy is on Civil Servants in their Department working from home and receiving the London Weighting Allowance.

Mims Davies: DWP does not have a London Weighting Allowance. DWP has four pay zones and correspondence pay scales: National, Inner London, Outer London and Special Location Pay Zones. DWP has a hybrid working policy where employees are required to spend a minimum of 40% of their time in the office over a four-week period. In DWP, contractual home working is allowed only as a reasonable adjustment under the Equality Act 2010 for a disabled colleague or following a successful application under the Flexible Working Regulations. Flexible working is also a fundamental element of the Civil Service employment offer which is consistent with other sectors. Flexible working arrangements enable departments to make efficient use of resources, and the offer also ensures the Civil Service can attract and retain a diversity of talent. For employees who are either contractual homeworkers or hybrid workers, their pay is determined by either their designated office or their contracted office, respectively. Contractual homeworkers still have a designated office for pay purposes. Hybrid workers are still contractually based in an office. They will receive pay according to where their particular office falls in the above zones.

Universal Credit

Olivia Blake: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households in receipt of Universal Credit and subject to deductions had (a) up to 5%, (b) between 5%-6% (c) between 6%-7%, (d) between 7%-8%, (e) between 8%-9%, (f) between 9%-10%, (g) between 10%-11%, (h) between 11%-12%, (i) between 12%- 13%, (j) between 13%- 14%, (k) between 14%-15%, (l) between 15%-16%, (m) between 16%-17%, (n) between 17%-18%, (o) between 18%-19%, (p) between 19%-20%, (q) between 20%-21%, (r) between 21%-22%, (s) between 22%-23%, (t) between 23%-24%, (u) between 24%-25% and (v) more than 25% of the Standard Allowance deducted in the most recent month for which data is available.

Guy Opperman: The information requested is provided in the table, subject to caveats set out below. Notes1. The number of households has been rounded to the nearest 100.2. The definition of 'Deductions between x and y% of standard allowance' is deductions between exactly x% and up to y%. For example, 'Deductions between 5 and 6%' means deductions greater than or equal to 5% of standard allowance and less than 6% of standard allowance.3. Some households will be repaying more than one deduction. The table presents the total of all deductions per household.4. Claimants may request more than one new claim advance, up to 100% of their entitlement.5. ‘Last resort deductions’ continue to be taken, even if it means that more than 25 per cent is deducted. This is to protect vulnerable claimants from being made homeless or having their fuel disconnected.6. Data for February 2023 has been provided, in line with the latest available Universal Credit Household Statistics.7. Figures are provisional and are subject to retrospective change as later data becomes available. Table 3: Level of Deduction for Universal Credit Households, February 2023Deductions as a Percentage of Standard AllowanceNumber of Households with a Deduction Deductions between 0 and 5%177,000 Deductions between 5 and 6%124,700 Deductions between 6 and 7%41,500 Deductions between 7 and 8%74,500 Deductions between 8 and 9%138,800 Deductions between 9 and 10%62,300 Deductions between 10 and 11%62,000 Deductions between 11 and 12%39,200 Deductions between 12 and 13%55,800 Deductions between 13 and 14%53,400 Deductions between 14 and 15%52,800 Deductions between 15 and 16%195,200 Deductions between 16 and 17%24,000 Deductions between 17 and 18%30,000 Deductions between 18 and 19%27,800 Deductions between 19 and 20%65,400 Deductions between 20 and 21%86,100 Deductions between 21 and 22%23,300 Deductions between 22 and 23%29,800 Deductions between 23 and 24%41,700 Deductions between 24 and 25%628,400 Deductions at 25% or above215,100

Universal Credit: Repayments

Olivia Blake: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households with deductions in Universal Credit payments for New Claim Loans are on a repayment schedule for this loan of (a) 0-6 months, (b) 6-12 months, (c) 12-18 months, (d) 18-24 months and (e) more than 24 months in the most recent month for which data is available.

Guy Opperman: The information requested is provided in the table below, subject to the caveats set out below Notes1. The number of new claim & benefit transfer advances has been rounded to the nearest 100.2. Some households are repaying more than one new claim or benefit transfer advance. This impacts about 19% of households. For example, a household may take a further New Claim advance within the same assessment if they are within the maximum New Claim Advance amount available. This will appear as two different advances on the system.3. "New Claim Loan" has been interpreted as new claim advance and figures presented also include benefit transfer advances.4. Data for February 2023 has been provided, in line with the latest available Universal Credit Household Statistics.5. Figures are provisional and are subject to retrospective change as later data becomes available Table 2: Repayment Schedule for New Claim & Benefit Transfer Advances in February 2023Repayment Schedule (in months)Number of New Claim & Benefit Transfer Advances being Repaid  0 to 6 months17,300  7 to 12 months111,800  13 to 18 months69,600  19 to 24 months714,300  More than 24 months-

Social Security Benefits

Olivia Blake: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households with deductions in Universal Credit and other social benefit payments for Budgeting Advances are on a repayment schedule for this loan of (a) 0-3 months, (b) 3-6 months, (c) 6-9 months, (d) 9-12 months and (e) more than 12 months in the most recent month for which data is available.

Guy Opperman: Figures for households on other social benefits with a deduction for budgeting advances is not held. Figures relating to Universal Credit are provided in the table below. Notes1. The number of budgeting advances has been rounded to the nearest 100.2. Data for February 2023 has been provided, in line with the latest available Universal Credit Household Statistics.3. Figures are provisional and are subject to retrospective change as later data becomes available.4. Some households are repaying more than one budgeting advance. Each advance will be recorded so affected households will appear more than once in the table. This impacts about 1% of households.  Table 1: Repayment Schedule for Budgeting Advances in February 2023Repayment Schedule (in months)Number of Budgeting Advances being Repaid0 to 3 months1,5004 to 6 months22,6007 to 9 months21,80010 to 12 months873,700More than 12 months-

Social Security Benefits: Overpayments

Olivia Blake: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households with deductions in (a) Universal Credit and (b) other social benefit payments for benefit overpayments are on a repayment schedule of (i) zero to six, (ii) six to 12, (iii) 12 to 18 months, (iv) 18 to 24 months and (v) more than 24 months in the most recent month for which data is available.

Guy Opperman: The information requested is not available.

Offshore Fixed Structures: Repairs and Maintenance

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many safety critical maintenance jobs on offshore oil and gas installations were deferred by operators in each year since 2019.

Mims Davies: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) does not collect or hold data on the number of deferred safety critical maintenance jobs.

Offshore Fixed Structures: Repairs and Maintenance

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of the role of contractor companies in the offshore oil and gas industry in the (a) safety case assessments and (b) the voluntary reporting scheme for safety-critical maintenance work on offshore oil and gas installations.

Mims Davies: Duty holders are responsible for preparing and submitting safety cases that are assessed by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Duty holders are required to consult with those responsible for the conduct of the installation and with employers, including contractors, whose employees are engaged in the activities carried out on the installation. HSE assesses all elements of the case together rather than one element in isolation.HSE does not collect or hold data on the role of contractor companies in the voluntary reporting scheme for safety-critical maintenance work on offshore oil and gas installations.

Offshore Fixed Structures: Repairs and Maintenance

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent steps he has taken to ensure that the voluntary reporting scheme for safety-critical maintenance work on offshore oil and gas installations is compliant with the provisions covering risk assessments in Regulation 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.

Mims Davies: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) pro-active intervention programme includes the inspection of duty holders’ arrangements for risk assessment of deferred safety-critical maintenance work to ensure they are compliant with the requirements of Regulation 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. The information voluntarily reported to Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) by its members is used by HSE to inform its intervention programme.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Fertilisers

Jo Gideon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many meetings parties to the Fertilisers common framework have had since the publication in February 2022 of her Department's command paper Fertilisers common framework, CP 595; and when they plan to consult on revised fertilising products regulation.

Mark Spencer: Parties to the Fertilisers provisional common framework have met monthly since its publication. Officials from Defra, DAERA and the Scottish and Welsh Governments attend these meetings. A consultation and call for evidence on the revising of fertilising product regulations is planned for autumn 2023.

Veterinary Medicine: Training

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she has taken to increase the number of vets trained in England.

Mark Spencer: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Luton North on 6 July 2023, PQ 191960.

Animal Products: Import Controls

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the number of vets available to carry out veterinary checks on the imports of animal products arriving in the UK.

Mark Spencer: GB Border Control Point (BCP) operators are required to provide sufficient on-site staff, including Official Veterinarians where necessary, to carry out required import checks. BCP designations are only granted where there is evidence that vet capacity will meet demand. BCPs are also regularly audited by the Animal and Plant Health Agency to ensure they continue to have the correct levels of staffing to deliver import controls on products of animal origin.

Poultry: Industry

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the availability of commercial loans for businesses in the poultry sector.

Mark Spencer: The UK has a highly resilient food supply chain which has coped well in responding to the unprecedented challenges the industry has faced in the past few years. The UK poultry industry operates in an open market and commercial loans are a matter for individual businesses. The British Business Bank works with lenders to offer a range of debt and equity products to support UK businesses including those in the food and agricultural sectors.

Animal Products: Import Controls

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many registered vets are there who are qualified to carry out import checks on animal products arriving in the UK.

Mark Spencer: Official Veterinarians (OVs) are used by both the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) and Port Health Authorities to carry out checks on imports that are required of them, and some of that OV resource is recruited on a contractual basis. We do not hold data for the number of registered OVs in the UK able to perform such functions. However, Border Control Post (BCP) designations are only granted where there is evidence that vet capacity will meet demand. BCPs are also regularly audited by APHA to ensure they continue to have the correct levels of staffing to deliver import controls on products of animal origin.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Veterinary Medicine

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many vets are employed by her Department; and how many were employed in each year since 2018.

Mark Spencer: The department does not hold employee profession information. It does hold an individual’s work area, and since 2018 to present there are no employees in veterinary roles in the core department.

UK Internal Trade: Labelling

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to provide additional time to businesses who have not prepared for the labelling requirements set out in the Windsor Framework.

Mark Spencer: The October 2023 date for labelling related to GB to NI movements is immovable as it is the product of negotiations and agreement with the European Union and is established in the Windsor Framework legal text. We recognise that the new labelling requirements represent a substantial change for industry. The Government will be working with operators to ensure that goods flows are not disrupted as the new arrangements come into force. This includes, for example, a specific transition period in the legal text which means goods that are already on the market will not need to be relabelled. It also includes funding to support the cost of new labelling requirements. We will adopt a pragmatic approach to compliance in the initial phase of implementation.

Food: Consumption and Production

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will consider the potential merits of publishing an annual assessment of the potential impact of free trade agreements on domestic food production and consumption.

Mark Spencer: The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) publishes Impact Assessments of the UK's Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and these contain the official assessment of the potential impacts on the agri-food sector. DBT has also committed to monitor the implementation and conduct a comprehensive evaluation for the agreements as set out in the FTA impact assessments. Defra will also be supporting DBT in monitoring the impacts of new FTAs as these come into force over time.

Food Supply

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make it her policy to introduce a (a) food security index, (b) food security target and (c) statutory duty to monitor and report on domestic food production levels annually.

Mark Spencer: Food security is a complex and multifaceted issue. There is no single indicator or index that captures the breadth of food security issues effectively. In the Government food strategy, we committed to broadly maintain the current level of food we produce domestically. We already monitor and report on domestic food production levels annually in our Agriculture in the United Kingdom publication. This is produced to meet a reporting commitment in the Agriculture Act 1993. In addition, the Agriculture Act 2020 commits the Government to produce analysis of statistical data relating to food security at least once every three years.

Avian Influenza: Finland

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the implications for her policies of the recent outbreak of avian influenza on fur farms in Finland; and whether she has held discussions with her counterparts in (a) Finland and (b) other EU countries on collective action to mitigate the risks of zoonotic disease on fur farms.

Mark Spencer: The Government shares the British public’s high regard for animal welfare. Fur farming has been banned in England and Wales since 2000 (2002 in Scotland and Northern Ireland). While fur farming is legal in some EU countries, there are strict rules in place to ensure that animals kept for fur production are farmed, trapped and killed humanely. The risk to the UK population from these outbreaks is negligible and the Finnish government is taking action to cull the affected farms. Nevertheless, together with the UK Health Security Agency we are keeping a close eye on the findings in mink, foxes and other animals farmed for fur and the possible risk to human health. We have published a risk assessment on the transmission from animals to humans of influenza of avian origin. International collaboration and knowledge exchange on avian influenza is facilitated through discussions between the UK Chief Veterinary Officer and representatives from the Animal and Plant Health Agency avian influenza national and international reference laboratories, and their counterparts in the EU and globally through the World Organisation for Animal Health and allied projects, including through the joint WOAH-FOA Scientific Network on animal influenza OFFLU.

Environmental Land Management Schemes

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of Environmental Land Management payment rates.

Mark Spencer: When we set payment rates, we aim to make them fair and attractive to farmers while delivering value for public money. We will regularly review actions and payment rates over time to make sure that they work for farmers and land managers and are delivering the intended outcomes to contribute to the government’s environment, climate and food production goals. Many of the actions we will pay for through the ELM schemes will help farmers and land managers reduce their costs, improve their efficiency and improve the natural environment. We recently reviewed the payment rates for both Countryside Stewardship revenue options and capital items and they have been updated.

Sustainable Farming Incentive

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of providing Sustainable Farming Incentive funding for all projects aimed to (a) protect water courses, (b) improve public access and (c) reduce carbon emissions.

Mark Spencer: In January 2023, Defra published an “Environmental Land Management update: how government will pay for land-based environment and climate goods and services”. This publication sets out all the activities we will pay farmers and land managers to carry out from 2024, to improve the environment alongside food production. This includes activities to protect water courses and reduce carbon emissions. We want to offer further support for access to our countryside, farmland or woodland, and so under our Environmental Land Management Schemes we are also exploring how we can pay for more access actions including new permissive access and expanding educational access beyond groups of school pupils and care farming visitors. Additionally, through our Farming in Protected Landscapes programme, we provide funding to support and improve Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and National Parks. Under this programme we pay for projects that provide opportunities for people to discover, enjoy and understand the landscape and its cultural heritage, including permissive access. We will publish further details on the 2024 offer later this year.

Slurry Infrastructure Grant

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of extending the Slurry Infrastructure Grant offer beyond three rounds of funding.

Mark Spencer: As we set out in the Agricultural Transition Plan, we are planning to run two further rounds of the Slurry Infrastructure grant in autumn 2023 and 2024. We will fund as many farms as we can to go beyond minimum legal obligations, but will not be able to fund everyone. We will continue to work with the industry to prioritise funding fairly while maximising environmental outcomes.

Slurry Infrastructure Grant

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to widen accessibility to the Slurry Infrastructure Grant scheme beyond priority areas.

Mark Spencer: As we set out in the Agricultural Transition Plan, we are planning to run two further rounds of the Slurry Infrastructure grant in autumn 2023 and 2024. These will be larger rounds, offered to a wider set of areas than those prioritised in round 1. We are working with an industry group to consider how best to prioritise funding fairly while maximising environmental outcomes and will publish further details shortly.

Food: Production

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure more home-grown sustainable food is (a) bought, (b) made and (c) sold through public procurement contracts.

Mark Spencer: The UK produces world leading quality food and drink, demonstrating excellence in animal welfare and sustainable production standards. Defra’s consultation on food and catering policy sought views on a number of proposals to update the Government Buying Standards for Food and Catering Services. This included ways of gaining greater clarity on how widely sustainable UK-grown food and ingredients are used in public sector canteens and kitchens. Changes to the standards must be proportionate and strike a balance between providing information on the impact of government policy and managing burdens on business. We will publish the consultation findings, alongside updated standards and guidance later this year.

Food

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of increasing the proportion of British food in public procurement contracts on (a) society, (b) the economy and (c) the environment.

Mark Spencer: The UK produces world leading quality food and drink, demonstrating excellence in animal welfare and sustainable production standards. Defra’s consultation on food and catering policy sought views on a number of proposals to update the Government Buying Standards for Food and Catering Services. This included ways of meeting the Government’s manifesto commitment encouraging the public sector to procure British food to support the environment, animal welfare and our farmers. In updating the standards, we must ensure we meet our domestic and international legal obligations, in particular under the WTO Government Procurement Agreement. We will publish the consultation findings, alongside updated standards and guidance later this year.

Public Sector: Procurement

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to (a) reform public procurement supply chains and (b) introduce dynamic procurement systems.

Mark Spencer: We consulted last summer on options to update our public sector food procurement standards. This included seeking views on ensuring that a diverse range of suppliers, including small and medium enterprises (SMEs), are better able to access the public sector. The Government response is due later this year. Meanwhile, we continue to work with the Crown Commercial Service, who are developing a new commercial agreement which will enable public sector buyers to access SME food suppliers through an easy-to-use online portal. More broadly, Defra is working closely with the Cabinet Office to prepare for implementation of the wider procurement reform measures in the Procurement Bill currently being debated in Parliament.

Pigs and Poultry: Animal Housing

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make it her policy to publish a consultation on reforms to the use of farrowing crates for pigs and cages for laying hens.

Mark Spencer: I refer the hon. Member to the answers given on 12 June 2023 to the hon. Member for Hayes and Harlington, PQ UIN 188176 and the hon. Member for Scunthorpe, PQ UIN 188424.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Remote Working

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what their Departments policy is on Civil Servants in their Department working from home and receiving the London Weighting Allowance.

Mark Spencer: In line with current policy, pay reflects where an employee is based. Eligibility for the London pay range is linked to an individual’s job role needing to be based in a defined London office location. Flexible working is a fundamental element of the Defra employment offer which is consistent with other sectors. Flexible working arrangements enable the department to make efficient use of resources, and the offer also ensures we attract and retain a diversity of talent. As part of this approach we have developed hybrid working arrangements which require employees to spend 2-3 days in the office each week, and the option of 2-3 days working from home. The majority of employees are working on a hybrid basis, or are entirely based in the workplace.

Fisheries: Animal Welfare

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when her Department plans to publish the Farm Animal Welfare Committee opinion on the Welfare of Farmed Fish at the Time of Killing.

Mark Spencer: I refer the Rt Hon Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Ellesmere Port and Neston on 10 March 2023, PQ 158986.

Sustainable Farming Incentive

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when her Department plans to publish the Sustainable Farming Incentive offer for 2024.

Mark Spencer: In January 2023, Defra published an “Environmental Land Management update: how government will pay for land-based environment and climate goods and services”. This publication sets out all the activities we will pay farmers and land managers to carry out from 2024, to improve the environment alongside food production. We will publish further details on the 2024 offer later this year.

Carbon Emissions: Planning Permission

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Telegraph article of 15 July 2023 on Natural England's approach to planning applications and climate schemes, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of Natural England's proposals on (a) the number of low emission vehicle zones and (b) planning applications.

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Telegraph article of 15 July 2023 on Natural England's approach to planning applications and climate schemes, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of Natural England policy on planning applications on the number of approvals for new housing developments.

Trudy Harrison: Natural England has not made any proposals in relation to air quality and the planning system. Its role in the planning process is an advisory one, to help Local Planning Authorities make well-founded, environmentally sustainable planning decisions.We remain committed to upholding our vital environmental safeguards as well as supporting sustainable development to deliver the housing we need.

Dangerous Dogs

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many dogs were seized by the police by breed in each year since 2013.

Trudy Harrison: The police are not required to report this to us, and we do not hold this data. Any information on the seizure of dogs will be held by individual local authorities and police forces.

Water Supply: Planning

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to involve multi-sector stakeholders in catchment-based water systems planning.

Rebecca Pow: Defra recently published its landmark Plan for Water, to deliver a safe, reliable, resilient supply of clean and plentiful water – for our homes, businesses, leisure and for the wildlife that relies on it. The Plan for Water is built around an integrated, catchment approach to managing the water system. In the Plan for Water, we committed to delivering catchment plans backed up with new funding to improve all water bodies in England. Defra is currently engaging with multi-sector stakeholders such as the Catchment Based Approach (CaBA) to develop options and generate ideas on how catchment plans will work in best practice. CaBA is a community-led approach that engages people and groups from across communities at a local level to help improve water environments (more information can be found here: Catchment Partnership Pages | Catchment Data Explorer). CaBA’s catchment partnerships include involvement from public, private and civil-society sector organisations, playing a key role in the development of local catchment community aspirations. They drive greater awareness of water environment issues and catchment-based solutions, empowering communities to engage. Results show that catchment-level interventions are effective in realising multiple benefits. The Environment Agency is refreshing its National Framework for Water Resources and is aiming to set out how improvements can be made to collaborative multi-sector planning on a regional scale and how these plans can more effectively link to local and catchment based initiatives.

Squirrels: Pest Control

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a target for the phased reduction of the grey squirrel population in the next five years.

Trudy Harrison: As well as being a threat to the native red squirrel, the grey squirrel poses a severe challenge to the sustainable management of woodlands in England. In the Environmental Improvement Plan we committed to do more to tackle the impacts of grey squirrels on our trees, woodlands and red squirrel population by updating the Grey Squirrel Action Plan, embedding grey squirrel management into woodland and farming schemes, and encouraging public bodies and adjacent landowners to work together to manage grey squirrel populations, where appropriate. Countryside Stewardship funding is now available for grey squirrel management. We have also provided funding to the UK Squirrel Accord, including for work on an innovative grey squirrel immunocontraceptive. The updated Grey Squirrel Action Plan will build on existing support delivered through the Forestry Commission and the Animal and Plant Health Agency, setting out the additional actions Government will take to combat grey squirrels. These actions are all aimed at reducing the pressures of grey squirrels on the environment and industry, through population reduction. Our objectives are to support red squirrel conservation and to reduce damage to trees and it is better to target our action to achieve those goals.

Pets: Travel

Dr Jamie Wallis: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she last discussed with her EU counterparts the award to Great Britain of Part 1 listed status for UK citizens wishing to take their pets to EU countries.

Trudy Harrison: We are continuing to engage with the European Commission on awarding Great Britain 'Part 1' listed status and recognition of the UK's tapeworm-free status.

Climate Change: Infrastructure

Patricia Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to incentivise investment in infrastructure for climate resilience and adaptation.

Trudy Harrison: Investment in infrastructure resilience is delivered through both public and private funding. The third National Adaptation Programme sets out in detail how each infrastructure sector is approaching the challenge of climate resilience, now and in the future, including the way in which regulatory frameworks drive investment in climate resilience. Where the Government has concerns about the level of investment in resilience we have acted swiftly. For example, through the recent Plan for Water we have accelerated £2.2 billion of investment in measures to secure a resilient, clean and plentiful supply of water now and in the future. The 2023 Green Finance Strategy also contains a range of initiatives to help drive increased private financial flows into environmental outcomes, including climate adaptation.

Land Use

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when her Department plans to publish the Land Use Framework.

Trudy Harrison: We announced in the Food Strategy that we will publish a Land Use Framework for England this year. Defra is working with other Government departments to understand and take account of their land use expectations as we develop the content of the Framework.

Property Flood Resilience Scheme

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 24 November 2022 to Question 92217 on Property Flood Resilience Scheme, on what date she plans to publish the outcomes of the evaluation of the Property Flood Resilience Repair Grant Scheme.

Rebecca Pow: The evaluation of the Property Flood Resilience Repair Grant Scheme report was published in April 2023 and can be found at: https://randd.defra.gov.uk/ProjectDetails?ProjectId=20539.

Agriculture: Land Use

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of rewilding agricultural production on food security.

Trudy Harrison: Wilding or rewilding is the restoration of ecosystems to the point where they are more regulated by natural processes. The Government is supporting a number of initiatives to create wilder landscapes across England, as part of a broader approach to nature recovery. However, rewilding is not appropriate in all situations, and we must balance priorities including food production. We continue to assess how land use change, including the restoration of natural processes, can contribute to net-zero, food security and supporting the farming sector.

Agriculture: Compensation

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing a compensation scheme for farming businesses adversely impacted by species reintroductions.

Trudy Harrison: As we look to deliver on our statutory environmental targets, including to halt the decline of species abundance by 2030, we are expanding our environmental land management schemes to incentivise farmers and land managers to provide environmental goods and services alongside food production. Paying for actions that make space for nature and encouraging the restoration of habitat will help to deliver environmental benefits as well as improve the interaction between species that may have been reintroduced and farming operations. Where the release of a species may impact on local land managers and businesses, a licence application would need to outline how these impacts would be mitigated as well as demonstrate sufficient funding to do so.

Nature Conservation: Agriculture and Food Supply

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if the Government will (a) make impact assessments on all species reintroduction proposals in England mandatory and (b) require those impact assessments to assess the potential effects of those proposals on (i) agriculture and (ii) food production.

Trudy Harrison: An application for a licence to release a species must follow best practice guidance in our published Code for Reintroductions, and should outline the benefits and impacts that the proposal will have on the local environment, and socio-economic interests such as agriculture. We would expect an applicant to demonstrate that they have undertaken sufficient engagement with local stakeholders to understand and manage these impacts. Most reintroductions are of plant and invertebrate species like the lady’s slipper orchid and large blue butterfly, and often bring only benefits for the environment.

Department for Education

Teachers: Mid Bedfordshire

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many teachers in schools in Mid Bedfordshire constituency left the profession in the academic years (a) 2019-20, (b) 2020-21, (c) 2021-22 and (d) 2022-23.

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many teachers in schools Mid Bedfordshire constituency were recruited in the academic years (a) 2019-20, (b) 2020-21, (c) 2021-22 and (d) 2022-23.

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many teachers were recruited in (a) Portsmouth South and (b) Portsmouth North constituency in each academic year since 2019-20.

Nick Gibb: Recent data shows that there are now over 468,000 full time equivalent (FTE) teachers in state funded schools in England, which is an increase of 27,000 (6%) since 2010. This is the highest number of FTE teachers since the School Workforce Census began in 2010.The requested figures for teachers joining and leaving service by parliamentary constituency are not available.Information on the school workforce in England, including the number and characteristics (age, gender, ethnicity, working pattern and post) of teachers joining and leaving service nationally, is published in the ‘School Workforce in England’ statistical publication, available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england.Figures for 2022/23 leavers are not available yet as they will be identified from the November 2023 census.Leavers are defined as qualified teachers leaving the state funded sector in England, for example due to a change of career or joining other UK education sectors, and those leaving on career breaks such as maternity leave or secondments outside of the school sector. Some of these teachers may rejoin a state funded school in England at a later date.

Academies: Sustainable Development

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that environmental sustainability is prioritised when constructing new academies and free schools.

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help (a) reduce emissions and (b) improve energy efficiency in maintained schools in England.

Nick Gibb: The Department takes its commitment to environment sustainability seriously. In November 2021, the Department updated its school building standards to ensure that all new schools will deliver net-zero carbon in operation. This update also included other sustainability improvements, including targets for increased greening and sustainable water management on school sites. These requirements can be accessed at:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/employers-requirements-part-b-generic-design-brief .In December 2022 the Department produced guidance to support all schools to improve the energy efficiency of their buildings and therefore reduce their carbon emissions. This guidance can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/energy-efficiency-guidance-for-the-school-and-fe-college-estate.Additionally, in 2022/23, £447 million of capital funding was made available to eligible schools and sixth form colleges to improve their energy efficiency.

Schools: Climate Change

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impacts of climate change on the school estate.

Nick Gibb: Within the Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy, the Department has committed to publishing a climate risk assessment in 2023 and is on track to meet the commitment.

Department for Education: Social Media

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance her Department has on cybersecurity precautions for the use of Minister's social media accounts while overseas.

Nick Gibb: On appointment to role, the Secretary of State for Education and all new ministers are offered a security briefing by Departmental Security Leads. This briefing follows the format and information provided centrally by Cabinet Office. The best practice contained within this briefing is relevant whether in the UK or overseas. Additional advice can be provided by the security team dependant on the country of travel.

Maintained Schools: Energy

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the average spend on energy per year by schools in the maintained sector in England.

Nick Gibb: Information on Local Authority maintained school expenditure is collected in Consistent Financial Reporting (CFR) returns and relates to expenditure in the financial year. This information is subsequently published on the schools financial benchmarking website, which can be accessed here: https://schools-financial-benchmarking.service.gov.uk/. This information is also published in the annual Local Authority and school expenditure official statistic, which is accessible here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/la-and-school-expenditure. Spending on energy is identified in the line ‘E16: energy’ in the CFR return. National figures for school expenditure on energy for recent years can be found at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/a8a474ba-c470-45a3-bb48-08db839e0283.In considering the affordability of the recent teachers’ pay award, the Department has assumed schools’ energy costs for the 2023/24 financial year to be approximately £750 million higher than in the 2021/22 financial year, which represents a 125% increase.In July this year, the Department announced an additional £525 million of funding to support schools with the teachers’ pay award in 2023/24, and £900 million in 2024/25. This is on top of the additional £2 billion in each of 2023/24 and 2024/25 already announced at the Autumn Statement last year. This additional funding means that school funding will be over £59.6 billion next year, the highest ever level in real terms per pupil, as measured by the Institute for Fiscal Studies. This additional funding will enable head teachers to continue to invest in the areas that the Department knows positively impact educational attainment, including high quality teaching and targeted support to the children who need it most. It will also help schools to manage higher costs, including higher energy bills.

Apprentices: English Language and Mathematics

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department has taken to conduct a pilot study of varying standard requirements on English and mathematics for apprenticeships.

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress her Department has made on considering the evidence required to access flexibilities to standard English and mathematics requirements for apprenticeships.

Robert Halfon: Achieving a good standard in English and mathematics is important to longer term career prospects and improving social mobility, with research showing that achieving English and mathematics qualifications can correlate to higher earning potential. This is why the department provides funding for all apprentices to achieve up to a Level 2 in English and mathematics. Providers can access funding where apprentices require additional learning support. The department also recognises that some groups require more flexibility to achieve English and mathematics qualifications. There are already flexibilities in place which allow apprentices who have Education Health and Care (EHC) plans to achieve their apprenticeship with lower entry Level 3 English and mathematics. In addition, from 1 May 2023 to 1 May 2024 the department is conducting a pilot which considers how other apprentices with learning difficulties and disabilities, but without an EHC plan, could access these same flexibilities, in line with our objectives to support all apprentices to achieve. The department will share the outcomes of the pilot in due course.

Climate Change and Sustainable Development: Education

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans for the accountability arrangements for the Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy to become operational.

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to publish an update on progress made against the Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy commitments.

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what funding her Department has allocated to implementing the Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy.

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what school capital funding streams are available to improve the sustainability of maintained schools in England.

Nick Gibb: As committed to in the Department for Education’s Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy, the Department will produce a progress report on the implementation of this strategy. ​ The report is anticipated to be published in December 2023.Accountability arrangements are already in place through the Department’s official governance.£170 million has been allocated to the Sustainability and Climate Change portfolio between 2022/23 and 2024/25. Of this, £138 million (81%) is part of the Department’s innovate, test, invest process to identify measures to make education buildings more sustainable or more resilient to climate change. This will ensure evidence is at the heart of decision making.The remaining 19% is focused on cross cutting initiatives to drive systems change, including the National Education Nature Park, support to schools and colleges to put in place climate action plans and setting up systems to assess the risk of climate change and report emissions.The Department also continues to work with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero to help schools and colleges access the £1.4 billion Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme to improve sustainability. From October 2022, up to £635 million has been made available through Phase 3b of the scheme for installing low carbon heating and energy efficiency measures in public buildings over the 2023/24 and 2024/25 financial years, with a minimum of 30% going to schools and colleges. This will help to cut emissions and save on energy bills. Phase 3b closed on 31 October 2022 and Phase 3c is expected to open for applications in autumn 2023.New school buildings delivered by the Department, such as through the School Rebuilding Programme, are designed and fully funded to be net zero carbon in operation and more resilient to the effects of climate change.Capital funding is also allocated every year to improve the condition of school buildings, including improving energy efficiency. The Department allocated £1.8 billion for financial year 2023/24, including funding for Local Authorities to allocate to their maintained schools.In 2022 to 2023, eligible schools and sixth-form colleges received an allocation from an additional £447 million of capital funding to improve energy efficiency. This is part of an additional £500 million of capital funding for schools and further education institutions in England.Capital allocations are available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/school-capital-funding.

Higher Education: Admissions

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to page 2 of the Department for Education's consultation response entitled Higher Education Policy Statement and Reform: Government consultation response, published in July 2023, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of proposals to cap the numbers of students on low quality courses on (a) students and (b) providers in each English region; and whether she discussed the potential impact of those proposals on the levelling up agenda with the Secretary of State for Education before the publication of the Government consultation response.

Robert Halfon: As the independent regulator, it will be for the Office for Students (OfS) to determine whether Higher Education (HE) provision is in breach of condition of registration B3, which requires providers to deliver positive student outcomes, and whether a recruitment limit is an appropriate and proportionate response to any individual breach. Therefore, the department cannot predict which providers and provision might be subject to a recruitment limit in the future. OfS are currently investigating 18 of the total 421 registered HE providers, in relation to condition B3.Further detail about condition of registration B3 can found here: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/regulation/registration-with-the-ofs-a-guide/conditions-of-registration/.The department considered the potential impact of recruitment limits on students and providers in each English region, based on provision currently not meeting the minimum thresholds for one or more of the three B3 metrics, in its HE Reform consultation response impact assessment. This impact assessment can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1170666/Higher_education_policy_statement_and_reform_-_government_consultation_response_-_impact_assessments_and_analysis.pdf.My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities considered and agreed all of the measures in the HE Reform Consultation Response.The department wants to make sure that every student who goes into HE will be able to reap true benefits, regardless of where they are located. Supporting students across the UK onto HE which delivers good outcomes will support levelling up.

Overseas Students: Surcharges

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made a recent assessment of the potential impact of increasing the cost of (a) the immigration health surcharge and (b) student visas on (i) the international student target within the International Education Strategy.

Robert Halfon: The department has been successful in delivering our International Education Strategy ambition of hosting at least 600,000 students per year by 2030 for the last two years, and the government fully expects the UK to continue to be an attractive destination for international students.The department is increasing fees across a range of immigration routes, including for people coming here to live, work and study, at a time of record high migration numbers. It is the government’s policy that those who use and benefit most from the immigration system should contribute towards the cost of operating the system, reducing the burden on the UK taxpayer.The government’s visa fees are competitive globally and there is little evidence that fee increases to date have significantly affected demand on work, study and tourism routes.

Department for Transport

A47

Jerome Mayhew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the costs to the dualling of the A47 between Blofield and North Burlingham and Easton to North Tuddenham of the judicial review process.

Mr Richard Holden: National Highways’ estimated legal costs associated with the judicial review process for the A47 Blofield to North Burlingham and A47 Easton to North Tuddenham schemes is £50,000 to £75,000. The judicial review process has not yet completed, so further legal costs could be incurred.It is not yet possible to assess the full impact of the legal action on the project itself. However, it has meant that the schemes have missed their scheduled start of works dates of March 2023 and their construction costs will face additional inflationary pressures, potentially into the millions of pounds.

Bus Services: Barnsley

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the (a) frequency and (b) reliability of bus services in (i) Barnsley and (ii) each region.

Mr Richard Holden: The Department publishes data on reliability & punctuality but not on frequency of bus services. The Department publishes data on average excess waiting time for frequent services at a regional and local transport authority level and the proportion of non-frequent bus services running on time at a local transport authority level only. Data for Barnsley is not available as figures are not collected at this level of granularity. The available data can found be in table BUS09 on GOV.UK: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1133041/bus09.ods. The Government has invested over £3.5 billion to support and improve bus services since March 2020. This includes over £1 billion of funding for English Local Transport Authorities outside London to support the delivery of their Bus Service Improvement Plans and help to make buses more frequent, more reliable, easier to understand and use, better coordinated and cheaper as set out in the National Bus Strategy

Buses: Exhaust Emissions

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made ofthe effectiveness ofthe Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas scheme.

Mr Richard Holden: The department has an ongoing monitoring and evaluation project in place for the Zero Emission Bus Regional Aras (ZEBRA) scheme. This will assess the extent to which the ZEBRA scheme meets its objectives and help to improve the evidence base on the performance of zero emission buses.On 7 June 2023 the department published an interim evaluation report on the ZEBRA scheme. The report includes findings from a process evaluation of the pre-implementation phase of the ZEBRA scheme. The report can be viewed on the department’s website: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/zero-emission-bus-regional-areas-scheme-interim-evaluation

Buses: Exhaust Emissions

Sir Robert Goodwill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether any of the zero emission buses funded by the Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (a) are and (b) will be manufactured outside the UK.

Mr Richard Holden: The following table presents information on the number of zero emission buses funded through the Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA) scheme by local transport authority. The numbers in this table are not official statistics: they are based on the latest information available and are therefore indicative and subject to change. Where available, information has been provided on the status of the buses and the name of the bus manufacturer has been included.Local Transport Authority  Number of buses fundedNumber of buses orderedBus manufacturer Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority3030VolvoKent County Council33335 - Volvo.  28 - Irizar.Leicester City Council114114108 – Wrightbus    6 - Pelican/YutongWarrington Borough Council105105VolvoSouth Yorkshire Combined Authority27274 - Alexander Dennis Ltd   23 - Pelican/YutongNorfolk County Council7070WrightbusNorth Yorkshire County Council393920 - EvoBus/Mercedes 19 - Alexander Dennis LtdPortsmouth City Council & Hampshire County Council6262WrightbusBlackpool Council900Bus manufacturer subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator.Nottingham City Council682424 - Pelican/Yutong    Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator.Greater Manchester Combined Authority170170VolvoHertfordshire County Council270Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator.West Midlands Combined Authority1240Bus manufacturer subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator.City of York Council5353WrightbusWest Yorkshire Combined Authority1365757 – Wrightbus    Bus manufacturer for remaining buses subject to outcome of procurement process by local transport authority or bus operator.Oxfordshire County Council159159104 - Wrightbus    55 – Alexander Dennis Ltd

Parking: Pedestrian Areas

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 17 April 2023 to Question 177959 on Parking: Pedestrian Areas, when he plans to publish his Department's response to its consultation on Managing Pavement Parking.

Mr Richard Holden: Pavement parking is a complex issue. We want to take the right step for communities and ensure that local authorities have appropriate and effective tools at their disposal. We are working through the options and the possible legislative opportunities for delivering them and as soon as those matters are certain we will publish our formal response at:www.gov.uk/government/consultations/managing-pavement-parking.

Roads: Trespass

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the cost to the public purse was of allegations of trespass against National Highways in each of the last five years.

Mr Richard Holden: National Highways can confirm that it is not aware of any formal litigation pertaining to trespass issued against National Highways in the last 5 years.

Shipping: Exhaust Emissions

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to publish an update to the Clean Maritime Plan before Christmas 2023.

Mr Richard Holden: The department still intends to publish an update to the Clean Maritime Plan by the end of 2023. This update will set out the next steps for decarbonising the maritime sector and limiting the impact of domestic shipping on the wider environment by setting out a range of policies and interim decarbonisation goals for the domestic maritime sector between now and 2050.

Port of London Authority

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department plans to take steps to improve the public accountability of the Port of London Authority.

Mr Richard Holden: The Department is content with the current level of accountability that exists for the Port of London Authority (PLA). The Department will keep this position under periodic review.

Railways: Fares

Kwasi Kwarteng: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with (a) Transport for London and (b) train operating companies on decreasing rail fares for Spelthorne residents travelling to and from London.

Mr Richard Holden: As part of the Plan for Rail we will invest to radically reform and improve passengers’ experience of fares, ticketing and retailing on the railways. We have committed to extending contactless pay as you go to 53 more stations, including those in Spelthorne, by the end of this year. To support this, we are simplifying fares to ensure that pay as you go offers best value and has greater flexibility for passengers.

Bus Services: Lincolnshire

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of rural bus services in Lincolnshire.

Mr Richard Holden: We recognise that the bus sector, particularly in rural areas, continues to face a number of ongoing challenges. That is why we have announced a long-term approach to support and improve bus services with an additional £300m to support services from July 2023 until April 2025. All local transport authorities have completed and published Bus Service Improvement Plans, determining what the needs of their rural residents are and how to best meet these. Lincolnshire County Council has been awarded £2,120,280 under Bus Service Improvement Plan Plus (BSIP+) in 23/24 and has been allocated a total of £1,606,568 in emergency and recovery funding since March 2020 to help maintain bus services. Additionally, Lincolnshire County Council receives £535,302 every year through the Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) to subsidise bus services.

Department for Transport: Remote Working

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what their Departments policy is on Civil Servants in their Department working from home and receiving the London Weighting Allowance.

Jesse Norman: Most DfT employees work in a hybrid manner, which provides flexibility regarding when and where they work. In line with the Department’s workplace and location principles DfT employees are expected to spend a minimum of 40% of their working time at their principal workplace. Employees whose principal workplace, as set out in their contract, is within the M25 or where their working pattern involves working at multiple sites with the majority of their time required to be spent at locations within the M25 will receive London pay. Subject to their meeting the eligibility criteria all DfT employees have a statutory right to request a flexible working arrangement, including to have their home assigned as their principal workplace (known as contractual homeworking). Where this is agreed and the employees’ home is their principal workplace, they will receive national pay regardless of the location of their home. Line Managers will consider flexible working requests in line with our flexible working policy, taking into account operational requirements and relevant legislation.

Roads: Safety

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to help increase the safety of (a) pedestrians and (b) other road users.

Mr Richard Holden: The Highway Code was updated on 29 January 2022 to include changes to improve safety for cyclists, pedestrians and horse riders. Key changes include the introduction of a Hierarchy of Road Users, which ensures that those who do the greatest harm have the greatest responsibility to reduce the danger or threat that they pose to others, strengthening pedestrian priority on pavements and at crossings, guidance on safe passing distances when overtaking cyclists, pedestrians and horse-riders and clarification that cyclists have priority at junctions when travelling straight ahead. The changes will lead to improvements in road safety as they encourage more mutual respect and consideration for all road users.

Railways: Pay

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his Department's negotiating priorities are during pay negotiations with train drivers' unions.

Huw Merriman: The Government’s priorities are to resolve the dispute and work with the industry to deliver crucial reform to our railways. The Government has no formal role in the negotiations but has facilitated meetings between Trade Unions and their employers in seeking to bring the disputes to an end. It has always been the role of employers to negotiate with unions, as the pay offers are put forward by the train operators.

Railway Network: Strikes

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an estimate with Cabinet colleagues of the cost of industrial action by railway staff to the (a) public purse and (b) economy since 21 June 2022.

Huw Merriman: The independent Centre for Economic and Business Research (Cebr) estimated that rail strikes between June 2022 and January 2023 led to a loss of UK economic output of around £500million due to people outside of the rail sector not being able to work. In January 2023, Rail Delivery Group reported that national level industrial action since June 2022 had led to direct revenue losses across the industry of around £500million.

Railways: Tickets

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 17 July 2023 to Question 193249 on Railways: Tickets, whether the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement permits companies which operate train services to co-ordinate and align their individual company policies and practices with each other (a) in the provision of their services to passengers and (b) on changes to those services.

Huw Merriman: In parallel to the public consultation, a train operator consultation also takes place as set out in the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement. During this consultation period, all train operators can see the proposals of others and are able to raise any questions or concerns. When making a station proposal, a train operator should consider the impact they will have on other operators utilising the station.

Driving Tests: Waiting Lists

Anthony Mangnall: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what further steps his Department plans to take to reduce the backlog in driving tests, in the context of current waiting times.

Mr Richard Holden: Since April 2021, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency has created over one million extra car test appointments by recruiting new examiners, conducting out-of-hours testing, such as on public holidays and weekends, asking all those qualified to conduct tests but who do not do so as part of their current day job, to return to conducting tests, and asking recently retired driving examiners to return. On average, this has created approximately 40,000 extra car test appointments each month. As of 17 July 2023, there were 544,028 car practical driving tests booked, and 36,523 driving tests available within the 24-week booking window.

Public Transport: Scotland

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to Answer of 19 July 2023 to Question 194262 on Public Transport, if he will provide details of the interventions conducted in Scotland and the locations where they took place.

Mr Richard Holden: My answer of 19 July referred to the 33 interventions the Government put in place to address the HGV Driver Shortage. Interventions that were not in devolved policy areas were applicable in Scotland. These include: Temporary measures to increase efficiency in supply chains including a temporary relaxation of drivers’ hours, and extension of cabotage rights for foreign hauliers,Grant funding to Road to Logistics and Think Logistics to support the training of new HGV drivers,Measures to expand HGV driver testing capacity and improve licencing processes,Initiatives to attract drivers back to the sector, promote it more widely and provide flexible support funding for jobseekers and those on Universal Credit, andTemporary measures in relation to the fuel supply chain and to provide economic support to the haulage industry. It would not be possible to collate data on where in Scotland these interventions were utilised without incurring disproportionate cost.

Driving under Influence

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which local authority in (a) Greater Manchester and (b) England had the highest number of alcohol-related traffic collisions in the latest period for which information is available.

Mr Richard Holden: Data on personal injury road collisions reported by police is available via the STATS19 data collection. This includes the results of breath tests conducted by the police at the scene of collisions. The latest breath test data is for 2021. Within the Greater Manchester metropolitan area, the local authority with the highest number of injury collisions where at least one driver failed a breath test (including drivers who refused to provide a sample) was Manchester with 23. The local authority with the highest number in England was Kent with 154.

Driving Tests: Rural Areas

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to reduce waiting times for drivers in rural areas to take practical tests.

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has had recent discussions with the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency on stopping people using false identities to take driving tests.

Mr Richard Holden: The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is working hard to increase driving test availability by recruiting more examiners, particularly at test centres that serve rural communities, such as Boston and Peterborough. Since April 2021, the DVSA’s recovery measures, which include conducting out-of-hours testing, such as on public holidays and weekends, asking all those qualified to conduct tests but who do not do so as part of their current day job, to return to conducting tests, and asking recently retired driving examiners to return, have created over one million extra car test appointments. On average, this has created approximately 40,000 extra car test appointments each month. To ensure Great Britain’s roads remain among the safest in the world, the DVSA has robust measures in place to stop people using false identities when taking a driving test.

Railway Network: Weather

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has held discussions with Network Rail on the steps they are taking to ensure the resilience of the rail network during (a) summer heatwaves, (b) heavy rainfall and (c) flooding.

Huw Merriman: Summer heatwaves, heavy rainfall and flooding are likely to become more frequent as a result of climate change. Network Rail and other transport infrastructure operators have been in discussions with DfT officials and Ministers regarding the importance of adapting to climate change, the action they are taking, and the Department’s plans for a transport adaptation strategy, including through the Weather Risk Task Force Steering Group. The publication of the third National Adaptation Programme (NAP3) in July 2023 marks a step-change in the UK government’s approach to climate adaptation. In the NAP3, Network Rail committed to, amongst other actions, design regional adaptation pathway strategies by 2029. In 2022 the Department for Transport published the High-Level Output Specification (HLOS) which outlines the Secretary of State’s objectives for Network Rail’s operation, maintenance and renewal of railway infrastructure between 2024 and 2029—tied to a record £44.1 billion funding settlement. The HLOS is clear that the rail network must be as resilient as reasonably possible to the effects of climate change and extreme weather.

Railways: Tickets

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has had recent discussions with South Western Railway on ticket office closures.

Huw Merriman: The Department has regular meetings with South Western Railway, as it does with all train operating companies, to discuss a wide range of topics, including how best to operate stations and serve passenger needs in the most efficient and effective way. Together with the rail industry, we want to improve and modernise the passenger experience, and moving staff out from behind the glass of ticket offices and into more visible and accessible roles around stations is a central part of this.

Railway Stations

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing railway station platform lengths.

Huw Merriman: Extending station platforms can bring a number of benefits including the ability for operators to run longer trains and provide more space on board for passengers. Longer platforms also provide more platform space to enable passengers to board and alight from trains which can help reduce delays by speeding up the boarding process.

Aviation: Crew

Simon Lightwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has had discussions with the (a) European Union Aviation Safety Agency and (b) Civil Aviation Authority on potential reciprocal arrangements for pilot licences since 1 January 2023.

Jesse Norman: Since 1 January 2023, EASA licences are invalid for operations within the UK meaning any pilots wishing to operate within the UK or on any UK registered aircraft require a UK CAA issued licence. Conversely, any UK registered pilot who wishes to work for an airline operating by or in an EU country must apply for an EASA licence, which can be obtained through applying in any EASA competent authority.The Department continues to work closely with the EU to find ways of working together to support a diverse industry, however, the Government is not seeking to reopen the withdrawal agreement and there are no plans at current to re-join EASA.

Railways

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the implementation of the Integrated Rail Plan; and if he will make a statement.

Huw Merriman: Significant progress has been made since we published the Integrated Rail Plan (IRP).Delivery of High Speed Two (HS2) between London and the West Midlands is well underway. I reported on the programme’s latest construction milestones in my 6-monthly update to Parliament in June, such as the circa 14.5 miles driven by HS2’s tunnel boring machines. In parallel, the High Speed Rail (Crewe to Manchester) Bill was introduced into Parliament in January 2022. Select Committee members have been appointed and the committee is hearing petitions against the bill and its additional provisions.In partnership with Network Rail and HS2 Ltd, feasibility work on Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) is being completed, with formal development to follow. Around £2 billion of NPR scope has already been included in the High Speed Rail (Crewe – Manchester) Bill and the Transpennine Route Upgrade has been augmented to include scope for NPR.The Government has approved over £2.9 billion of funding for the Transpennine Route Upgrade – which includes the current work between Manchester and Stalybridge. The total cost of the TRU programme is estimated to be between £9.0bn and £11.5bn. This is the first step towards improving train services between major areas in the North of England by the middle of this decade as well as laying the groundwork for the NPR system.In 2022, we started the main works to electrify the Midland Mainline between Kettering and Market Harborough, laying the foundation for the planned upgrade of the line to Nottingham and Sheffield.On the 17 July 2023, the DfT published the HS2 to Leeds Study terms of reference. In our response to the Transport Select Committee, we also committed to reconsidering the case for better connectivity at Bradford, including the potential for a new station.

Aviation: Crew

Simon Lightwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his Department's policy is on personnel licensing in the aviation sector.

Jesse Norman: Personnel who currently hold EASA licences and would like to work in the UK will now have to apply for a new UK CAA licence, as mutual acceptance of licences between the UK and the EU has ceased following the UK’s withdrawal from EASA. Any UK personnel who seek to work within the EU will have to apply for a licence from an EASA competent authority.

High Speed 2 Line

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the (a) projected end date is, (b) forecast spend in the financial year 2023-24 is, (c) initial planned whole life costs were and (d) delivery confidence assessment is of HS2 Phase 2a; and when each of those figures were last reviewed.

Huw Merriman: The Government set out schedule and cost updates for HS2 Phase 2a in its 6-monthly report on HS2 to Parliament in June. The existing Delivery in Service range for Phase 2a is 2030-2034, but as announced in the Transport Secretary’s statement to Parliament of 9 March 2023, construction has been rephased by 2 years. HS2 Ltd and the Department are working to minimise the impact of the rephasing on the Delivery into Service date. The current cost estimate range for Phase 2a is £5.2-£7.2bn (2019 prices). HS2 Ltd plans to spend £215m (current prices) in 2023/24 on Phase 2a. The project’s latest Delivery Confidence Assessment in Q4 2022/23 was Red. This is reviewed quarterly in line with requirements for the Government’s Major Projects Portfolio.

Great British Railways

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much his Department has spent on the transition of Network Rail to Great British Railways as of 18 July 2023.

Huw Merriman: The Department spent £76.5m on the setup and operation of the Great British Railways Transition Team between November 2021 and 24 July 2023.

Department for Business and Trade

Insolvency: Debts

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent estimate her Department has made of the amount of money owed by insolvent businesses under the (a) Bounce Back Loan Scheme, (b) Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme and (c) Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Scheme.

Kevin Hollinrake: The Department does not have a recent estimate of the amount of money owed by insolvent businesses under (a) Bounce Back Loan Scheme, (b) Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme and (c) Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Scheme. This is because the Department does not have full data on any partial repayments which were made by businesses before they entered insolvency proceedings. The Insolvency Service is taking action to address any wrongdoing in this area: as of 31 March 2023, the number of directors disqualified for this misconduct related to these schemes totals 602 and the number of bankruptcy restrictions totals 163. In addition, 6 criminal Prosecutions for allegations related to the Bounce Back Loan Scheme had concluded, with 3 immediate custodial sentences and 3 suspended custodial sentences.

Batteries and Electric Vehicles: Manufacturing Industries

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how much (a) public and (b) private sector funding for (i) battery and (ii) electric vehicle manufacturing has been announced since July 2022.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: Since July 2022, we have seen Tata Group announce an investment of over £4bn in a UK gigafactory. JLR have also announced plans to accelerate their shift to electric vehicles and have committed to a £15bn investment in their industrial footprint, vehicle programmes, autonomous, AI and digital technologies and people skills. In addition, in the wider electric vehicle manufacturing supply chain, we have seen Johnson Matthey announce an investment of over £60m in Hertfordshire to develop hydrogen technologies, Pensana announce an investment of £145m in a rare Earth metal refinery, and Ford announce a further £150m investment in Halewood to manufacture Electric Drive Units, in addition to their £227m investment announced in October 2021. Details of our support to companies will be published in due course as part of our regular transparency data.

Clean Steel Fund

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she has had discussions with representatives of the steel industry on the adequacy of funding for the clean steel fund; and if she will make a statement.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The Government recognises the vital role that the steel sector plays across the UK economy, and we meet regularly with steel industry representatives to discuss a range of issues. We are continuing to work with the sector to understand its decarbonisation investment plans, and representatives for the steel industry have not raised the timings or scale of the Clean Steel Fund in recent months whilst these discussions have been ongoing. Existing support for the steel industry’s decarbonisation efforts includes funding schemes such as the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund (IETF) and the Industrial Decarbonisation and Hydrogen Revenue Support (IDHRS).

Energy Intensive Industries

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether her Department had discussions with industry stakeholders before announcing the British Industry Supercharger.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The Department for Business and Trade holds detailed discussions on new policies with all relevant stakeholders on a regular basis, including ahead of the announcement of the British Industry Supercharger and during the recently closed consultations on the Capacity Market exemption and the Network Charging Costs Compensation Scheme.

Agricultural Products: Exports

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, to which five countries were the highest values of agri-food exports from Northern Ireland in 2022.

Nigel Huddleston: The five countries with the highest value of agri-food exports from Northern Ireland in 2022 were Ireland, France, Netherlands, United States, and Belgium. Northern Ireland agri-food exports 2022 – top 5 export marketsRankTop 5 export marketsValue £million% of totalTotalTotal agri-food exports£2,296m100.0%1Ireland£1,536m66.9%2France£92m4.0%3Netherlands£88m3.8%4United States£80m3.5%5Belgium£58m2.5%

Shipping: Pay

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the P&O Ferries’ ships European Causeway and European Highlander, what recent discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the effect of Part 4 of the National Minimum Wage Regulations 2015 on wages for ferry crews.

Kevin Hollinrake: The Government is clear that anyone entitled to be paid the National Minimum Wage (NMW) should receive it. In 2020, the government legislated to ensure that seafarers who are working in the UK territorial sea are entitled to be paid the minimum wage, regardless of where they ordinarily work or where their ship is registered.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Pakistan: Ahmadiyya

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps he is taking to ensure the safety and religious freedom of Ahmadi Muslims in Pakistan.

Leo Docherty: Protecting and promoting freedom of religion or belief remains central to the UK government's human rights engagement in Pakistan. Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State for South Asia and Minister responsible for Human Rights, raised the treatment of Ahmadi Muslims with then-Minister for Human Rights Mian Riaz Hussain Pirzada on 27 June. On 14 December 2022, Lord Ahmad also discussed the need to promote respect for all religions with then-Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. In May, the UK Political Counsellor visited Rabwah to discuss the challenges faced by the Ahmadiyya Muslim community.

Afghanistan: Women

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he plans to take in response to the report A/HRC/53/21: Situation of women and girls in Afghanistan - Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan and the Working Group on discrimination against women and girls.

Leo Docherty: The UK Government is grateful for the report of the Special Rapporteur and the working group which sheds further light on the Taliban's severe restrictions on the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan. Officials are considering the report's recommendations.We have repeatedly condemned the Taliban's decisions to restrict the rights of women and girls, including through the UN Security Council, Human Rights Council resolutions and public statements. We continue to work with the international community to press the Taliban to reverse their harmful policies.

Mohammad Ghobadloo

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 15 June 2023 to Question 188913 on Members: Correspondence, whether he has contacted Iran’s Chargé d'Affaires on the impending execution of Mohmmad Ghobadloo in Iran; and if he will make a statement.

David Rutley: The UK is firmly opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances in Iran. HMG weighs lobbying on individual cases extremely carefully because we recognise that the UK raising specific individuals by name can put them at greater risk.In a flawed judicial system, even false accusations of "collaboration with hostile foreign governments" can lead to significantly worse outcomes. It is imperative that we do not take action which risks harm.The UK initiated a joint statement at the Human Rights Council in July, signed by 54 countries, which condemned Iran's use of the death penalty. The Foreign Secretary has summoned Iran's Chargé d'Affaires twice to express our opposition to the death penalty in all circumstances.The UK has implemented nine rounds of human rights sanctions on Iran, including on those responsible for overseeing the death penalty. The most recent round was on 6 July.

Arab States: Israel

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he is taking diplomatic steps to support the proposal by the Israeli government to construct a land bridge to connect Israel to United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Jordan.

David Rutley: The UK Government welcomes all initiatives that aim to facilitate regional integration, enhance economic growth, and build peace.

Israel: Palestinians

Dr Philippa Whitford: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what information his Department holds on the number of (a) obstructions and (b) physical assaults there have been on Palestinian health workers by Israeli forces since 1 January 2023.

Dr Philippa Whitford: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what information his Department holds on the number of independent investigations that have been opened by Israeli authorities into attacks on emergency medics and ambulances by Israeli forces since 1 January 2023.

David Rutley: The work of healthcare workers across the globe is vital and they must be protected when carrying out their critical work. We recognise that under international humanitarian law, Israel, as the occupying power, has a duty of ensuring and maintaining public health to the fullest extent possible. The wounded and critically ill in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories should be able to access the urgent medical care they need. The British Embassy in Tel Aviv regularly raises the importance of regularised access to healthcare with the Israeli authorities. During his call on 4 July with the Israeli chargé d'affaires in London, the Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, urged Israel to safeguard access to healthcare and take proactive steps to guarantee the safety of civilians during Israeli operations in the West Bank. The Foreign Secretary also emphasised the importance of the proactive protection of civilians during his call with Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen on 5 July.

Gulf Strategy Fund

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, on what date his Department plan to publish the FCDO Gulf Strategy Fund summary for the financial year 2023-24.

David Rutley: The Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office plans to publish the FCDO Gulf Strategy Fund summary for Financial Year 2023/24 on the Cabinet Office's transparency grid in March 2024.

Palestinians: Health Services

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to monitor (a) incidents of physical assault and (b) obstruction of emergency medical teams of Palestinian health workers.

David Rutley: The work of healthcare workers across the globe is vital and they must be protected when carrying out their critical work. We recognise that under international humanitarian law, Israel, as the occupying power, has a duty of ensuring and maintaining public health to the fullest extent possible. The wounded and critically ill in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories should be able to access the urgent medical care they need. The British Embassy in Tel Aviv regularly raises the importance of regularised access to healthcare with the Israeli authorities. During his call on 4 July with the Israeli chargé d'affaires in London, the Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, urged Israel to safeguard access to healthcare and take proactive steps to guarantee the safety of civilians during Israeli operations in the West Bank. The Foreign Secretary also emphasised the importance of the proactive protection of civilians during his call with Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen on 5 July.

Wagner Group: Sanctions

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he is taking steps to ensure that sanctions are imposed on (a) Saddam Haftar and (b) other individuals associated with the Wagner Group alleged to have committed war crimes and corruption.

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department plans to take to help prevent Saddam Haftar from (a) transferring funds to the Wagner Group, (b) facilitating illegal migration to Europe from eastern Libya and (c) overseeing the effort to send weapons and fuel to militiamen loyal to Hemedti in Sudan.

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to Libya: we are your masters, published by Amnesty International in December 2022, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of imposing sanctions on Saddam Haftar for alleged war crimes committed by his personal militia.

David Rutley: The UK is committed to supporting the UN-facilitated, Libyan-led and owned political process to secure peace, stability and prosperity in Libya. This offers the surest route to tackling challenges such as human rights violations and illegal migration.We keep our sanctions under review but do not speculate on future designations as doing so could reduce their impact. We consistently demand full compliance with the UN arms embargo on Libya and have called for full implementation of the 2020 ceasefire agreement as set out in UN Security Council Resolution 2570, including the withdrawal of foreign forces and mercenaries, including the Russian Wagner Group.

Israel: Palestinians

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with his Israeli counterpart on taking steps to help reduce the influence of Iran on Palestinian terror groups.

David Rutley: The UK Government regularly assesses the impact of Iran's destabilising activity throughout the region, including its political, financial and military support to several militant and proscribed groups, including Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). Such activity compromises the region's security, its ability to prosper and escalates already high tensions. We work closely with our partners to hold Iran to account, and we currently have over 350 sanctions in place against the Iranian regime.

Israel: Palestinians

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of claims made by Palestinian politician Azzam Al-Ahmad that Palestinian Authority Security Forces recently fought with Islamic Jihad against Israeli security forces in Jenin.

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of reports that the Jenin Brigade is operating and storing weapons in civilian areas in the West Bank.

David Rutley: The UK is actively monitoring the security situation in Jenin. We unequivocally condemn the use and possession of indiscriminate weapons by militant groups in Jenin. The UK has proscribed the organisation known as Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) as a terrorist entity since March 2001. PIJ and other terrorist groups must cease their campaign of violence, for which there is no justification. Such activity compromises the region's security, its ability to prosper and escalates already high tensions, with consequences for the international community. The UK supports the Palestinian Authority's security jurisdiction in area 'A' of the West Bank, as agreed through the Oslo Accords. We call on the Palestinian Authority and Government of Israel to cooperate in securing the safety and protection of civilians across the West Bank.

West Bank: Health Services

Olivia Blake: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterparts in Israel on access for health workers in West Bank attempting to access injured Palestinians.

David Rutley: The work of healthcare workers across the globe is vital and they must be protected when carrying out their critical work. We recognise that under international humanitarian law, Israel, as the occupying power, has a duty of ensuring and maintaining public health to the fullest extent possible. The wounded and critically ill in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories should be able to access the urgent medical care they need. The British Embassy in Tel Aviv regularly raises the importance of regularised access to healthcare with the Israeli authorities. During his call on 4 July with the Israeli chargé d'affaires in London, the Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, urged Israel to safeguard access to healthcare and take proactive steps to guarantee the safety of civilians during Israeli operations in the West Bank. The Foreign Secretary also emphasised the importance of the proactive protection of civilians during his call with Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen on 5 July.

Falkland Islands

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the European Union's decision to refer to the Falklands Islands as Islas Malvinas.

David Rutley: Since 1965 the United Nations has mandated the double nomenclature of "Falkland Islands / Islas Malvinas" in UN-issued documentation and a number of countries have chosen to follow suit. In all fora at which the UK is present, the UK will continue to insist on the use of the name that the Islanders recognise and wish to use: the Falkland Islands. The UK remains committed to defending the Falkland Islanders' right of self-determination and is unequivocal, including with the EU and its Member States, that there can be no discussions on sovereignty unless the Falkland Islanders wish. Following publication of the EU - Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) Summit communiqué, the UK expressed its disappointment that the EU noted CELAC's position on the Islands. The EU publicly clarified their position has not changed.

South Sudan: Politics and Government

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to support democracy in South Sudan; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK released a joint Troika (UK, USA, Norway) statement in June emphasising the need for the Government of South Sudan to meet commitments in their Peace Agreement without delay. During a meeting in May with the South Sudanese Minister for Presidential Affairs and a call with the South Sudanese Acting Foreign Minister in July, the FCDO's Minister for Africa also stressed the need for progress towards democratic elections. In the 2022/23 UN peacekeeping financial year, the UK provided £54.5 million to the United Nations Mission in South Sudan, who are mandated to support preparations for elections. We also fund a peacebuilding programme and the placement of technical experts in the ceasefire and peace agreement implementation monitoring mechanisms.

Sudan: Armed Conflict

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent diplomatic steps he has taken to support the de-escalation of violence between military groups in Sudan; what steps he is taking to support people fleeing Sudan into (a) neighbouring countries and (b) the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK is working with partners, including from Quad (KSA, UAE, UK, US), African and European countries, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, the African Union and the UN to end the hostilities in Sudan. On 22 August, I (Minister Mitchell) issued a statement, condemning the growing evidence of serious atrocities taking place in Sudan, including reports of deliberate targeting and mass displacement of the Masalit community in Darfur. I urged the warring parties to end the violence, enable humanitarian access and ensure the protection of civilians; and called on international partners to join the UK in taking action to target the warring parties' access to funding and arms. We recognise the significant pressure that the Sudan crisis is putting on neighbouring countries. On 4 May, the UK Government announced £5 million to help meet the urgent needs of refugees and returnees in South Sudan and Chad. The UK Government is no longer running any evacuation operations from Sudan.

Pitcairn Islands: Sanitation

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he is taking steps to improve sanitation facilities on Pitcairn Island.

David Rutley: The UK Government will provide £4.52 million in budgetary aid to Pitcairn in the financial year 2023-24. This is to meet the essential needs of the island, including any necessary infrastructure improvement works. The priority for these works, including sanitation, is decided by the islanders.

Pitcairn Islands: Crime

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many crimes were reported on Pitcairn Island in each of the past 10 years.

David Rutley: The Pitcairn Islands Government reports the following number of crimes reported by year2013 - 12016 - 12017 - 12019 - 12020 - 32021 - 12022 - 0

Diplomatic Service: Harassment

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to support UK diplomatic staff based overseas from state backed harassment.

David Rutley: The UK expects receiving States to respect their obligations under The Vienna Conventions, which place an obligation on the receiving State to treat accredited staff with due respect and take all appropriate steps to prevent any attack on their person, freedom or dignity. The FCDO reminds States of these obligations when necessary, at all levels, both in country and through our embassies in London. Where UK diplomatic staff are faced with harassment, the FCDO has an extensive welfare offer in place to support staff both overseas and at home, and provides additional support where necessary.

Africa: Human Rights

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to Human Rights and Democracy: the 2022 Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office report, published on 13 July 2022, CP 886, for what reason there are no references to (a) Cameroon, (b) Burkina Faso and (c) Eswatini in that report.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The Annual Human Rights and Democracy Report for 2022 covers a wide range of countries, both Human Rights Priority Countries (HRPCs) and others.HRPCs are countries which either have particular challenges or are on a negative or positive trajectory, and where we consider that the UK can make a real difference. However, as always, our human rights work goes far beyond this.An absence of references to any particular country does not reflect the level of scrutiny the FCDO places on human rights there. We remain committed to the promotion of human rights across the globe.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Remote Working

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what their Departments policy is on Civil Servants in their Department working from home and receiving the London Weighting Allowance.

David Rutley: If a role is based in a London FCDO Office, the role holder is eligible for a London Location Allowance (LLA) or a London Allowance (LA) dependent on their terms and conditions. The allowances only apply while an individual is London-based and will be removed if they change their usual place of work. The FCDO expects individuals to attend their usual place of work in line with the FCDO Hybrid Working policy.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

Energy: Meters

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to ensure that households who have invested in small-scale renewable energy production can have smart metering equipment technical specifications 2 meters installed; what information his Department holds on the number of households with solar panels that have been refused a smart metering equipment technical specifications 2 meter by their energy supplier to date; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of energy companies refusing to install a smart metering equipment technical specifications 2 meter for households with solar panels on the energy bills of those households.

Amanda Solloway: We do not hold the data requested.Second generation smart (SMETS2) meters are now installed as standard for new smart meter installations. Recent technical eligibility improvements mean that SMETS2 smart meters can now be installed in over 99% of properties. Solar panels are compatible with second (SMETS2) and first (SMETS1) generation smart meters.Customers should contact their energy supplier if they wish to have a smart meter installed with their solar panel equipment.

Alternative Fuel Payments

Simon Lightwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 22 May 2023 to Question 185463 on Alternative Fuel Payments: Houseboats, what progress his Department has made on establishing whether there is a robust method for households without a permanent address to be able to claim the alternative fuel payment support.

Amanda Solloway: The Government has determined that the most robust mechanism available for establishing whether someone resides permanently on a boat for the purposes of the EBSS Alternative Funding is to use the Canal and River Trust’s list of those who cruise continuously and held a long-term licence during the application window for the scheme.Therefore, the Government has set up a process to issue a £600 support voucher to those itinerant boat dwellers through the Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding for continuous cruisers. Eligible individuals will not need to apply for this support.

Offshore Industry: Skilled Workers

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what progress he has made on extending the Skills Passport for offshore oil and gas workers to work in (a) renewables, (b) Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage and (c) hydrogen industries; and how many workers are involved in the pilot version of the Skills Passport.

Graham Stuart: The Energy Skills Passport was initially envisaged to enable the transition of workers between offshore oil and gas and offshore wind, but is now planned to be applicable to workers in emerging sectors such as Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage and hydrogen. The mapping of technical qualifications between the oil and gas and offshore wind sectors has been completed, and work is underway with representatives from emerging energy sectors to explore the mutual recognition of training to support the transition of offshore oil and gas workers.

Solar Power: Agriculture

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will take steps to prevent solar panel installations on Grade 1, 2 and 3 agricultural land.

Graham Stuart: The Government looks for ground mounted solar installations mainly on brownfield, industrial and low and medium grade agricultural land. Where high grade agricultural land is used, developers are required to justify this and design their projects to avoid, mitigate and where necessary, compensate for any impacts.

Hydrogen: Storage

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to support hydrogen storage technology.

Graham Stuart: The intended delivery of the Hydrogen Storage Business Model (HSBM) by 2025 will support the growth of the hydrogen economy. The HSBM intends to provide investors with long-term revenue certainty to establish and scale up deployment of hydrogen storage infrastructure. The HSBM will help overcome key investment barriers such as high capital costs, lengthy development lead times and uncertain financial returns in a nascent market. Following consultation, the Government published a position on the HSBM in August 2023.

Hydrogen and Natural Gas: Storage

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of using salt caverns below the former Royal Navy facility at Portland Port for (a) hydrogen and (b) natural gas storage.

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of including (a) hydrogen and (b) natural gas storage technologies in salt caverns through the Energy Bill.

Graham Stuart: Great Britain has eight natural gas storage facilities including five salt caverns. The Government will issue an update by the autumn on the role gas storage and other forms of flexibility play in security of supply. The Government is exploring longer-term options and locations to store hydrogen. The UK has strong geological potential to store hydrogen in salt caverns and the Government is engaging with industry to understand the viability of proposed hydrogen storage projects.

Wind Power: Celtic Sea

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent discussions he has had with the Crown Estate on (a) the Celtic Sea floating offshore wind leasing programme and (b) maximising the long term potential of green energy generation in the Celtic Sea.

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps the Government is taking to address spatial planning issues for floating offshore wind in the Celtic Sea to maximise the long term potential of green energy generation in the Celtic Sea.

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when he plans to make further announcements on maximising the opportunity of floating offshore wind in the Celtic Sea.

Graham Stuart: The Government supports The Crown Estate's Leasing Round 5 for floating offshore wind in the Celtic Sea and worked with it to agree the spatial design set out in their market update on 4 July. My Right Hon. Friend the then Secretary of State and I met with The Crown Estate in July and my officials are in regular contact with The Crown Estate to realise the opportunities from floating offshore wind in the Celtic Sea. The Crown Estate will set out the next steps on Leasing Round 5 later this year.

Hydrogen

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, If he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the UK’s ability to utilise white hydrogen.

Graham Stuart: The UK aims to support multiple production routes to meet its ambition to have up to 10GW of low carbon hydrogen production capacity by 2030. The Government is not aware of evidence to suggest natural – ‘white’ – hydrogen will make a significant contribution to the UK’s hydrogen production ambitions. However, it welcomes efforts from other countries that support the production and use of low carbon hydrogen. The Government is working with international partners on issues including natural hydrogen.

Hydrogen: Taxation

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on a hydrogen levy.

Graham Stuart: My Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a range of subjects. Low carbon hydrogen will be a source of clean energy which the Government can produce domestically using British skills, experience and natural resources. The British Energy Security Strategy sets out the Government's ambition for 10GW of hydrogen by 2030, which could support over 12,000 jobs, and unlock up to £11 billion in private investment.

Hydrogen: Whitby

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the hydrogen village trial in Whitby not going ahead on the Government's ambition of producing 10GW of low carbon hydrogen production capacity by 2030; and what recent assessment he has made of the potential contribution of other village trials to meeting that ambition.

Graham Stuart: The UK’s ambition for 10GW of low carbon hydrogen production capacity by 2030 is not reliant on any one project or trial. Demand in 2030 is mostly expected to come from harder to electrify parts of the economy such as industry and heavy transport, as well as playing an important role in decarbonising the power sector. The Government is developing the proposal for a hydrogen village trial in Redcar, Teesside with Northern Gas Networks (NGN). A decision on whether to proceed with the village trial in Redcar will be made by the Government later this year.

Hydrogen: Boilers

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what discussions he has had with boiler manufacturers on developing hydrogen ready boilers.

Graham Stuart: The Government recently consulted on requiring new domestic-scale gas boilers to be hydrogen-ready from 2026. The Government is analysing responses to the consultation and will issue a response in due course. The Department of Energy Security and Net Zero holds regular discussions with boiler manufacturers, directly and through trade bodies, including on the development of hydrogen-ready boilers.

Heating: Carbon Emissions

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an estimate of the proportion of the UK’s carbon emissions that was generated from domestic heating for (a) 2023 and (b) each of the last five years.

Graham Stuart: The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero published an estimate of the proportion of UK net territorial greenhouse gas emissions from heat in residential buildings in the 2021 Heat and Buildings Strategy. The figures include direct emissions from residential combustion as well as indirect emissions associated with the production of fuels and electricity consumed.https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/heat-and-buildings-strategy (figure 2). Updated statistics on UK territorial greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption by end user are now available up to 2021. Estimated UK territorial greenhouse gas emissions from heat in residential buildings, million tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e)  20172018201920202021Residential buildings emissions from heat76.477.774.373.978.4Total net UK territorial emissions473.2464.8450.4406.3426.5Percentage residential buildings emissions from heat16%17%16%18%18% Sources:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/final-uk-greenhouse-gas-emissions-national-statistics-1990-to-2021 (dataset of emissions by end user)https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/energy-consumption-in-the-uk-2022 (table U2)

Hydrogen: Redcar

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what discussions he has had with (a) Redcar Council and (b) Redcar Residents on the Redcar Hydrogen Community trial.

Graham Stuart: My noble Friend, Lord Callanan, Minister for Energy Efficiency and Green Finance, met with Councillor Alec Brown, Leader of Redcar and Cleveland Council, and Councillor Carrie Richardson, Deputy Leader, on 7th August in Redcar. The Minister also met with several residents from the project’s Citizen’s Panel to discuss local sentiment on the trial. He also has regular discussions with the local MP, Jacob Young and Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero: Remote Working

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what their Departments policy is on Civil Servants in their Department working from home and receiving the London Weighting Allowance.

Graham Stuart: The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero does not pay a separate London Weighting allowance. Instead, the Department operates National and London pay ranges. The range an individual is on is determined by the contractual location of their post.

Nuclear Power Stations: Construction

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of including the former BP Chemicals plant site in Baglan Bay in the new nuclear siting strategy.

Andrew Bowie: The Government is developing a new nuclear National Policy Statement (NPS), which will set planning policy for deploying new nuclear power stations beyond 2025 and support the UK in meeting the ambition of reaching up to 24GW of nuclear energy by 2050. As a first step towards developing the new nuclear NPS, later this year we intend to consult on how new nuclear developments could be sited in future prior to consulting on a draft NPS.

Energy Charter Treaty

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 13 July 2023 to Question 193032 onEnergy Charter Treaty, if he will publish all risk assessments held by his Department concerning the UK's membership of the Energy Charter Treaty.

Graham Stuart: The Government is assessing the evolving situation regarding Energy Charter Treaty modernisation and is considering the views of stakeholders in business, civil society and Parliament. The Government will keep the House informed of relevant developments.

Energy: Housing

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to encourage households to install energy efficiency measures before winter 2023.

Graham Stuart: The Government is investing £6.6 billion over this Parliament on clean heat and improving energy efficiency in buildings, reducing reliance on fossil fuel heating. The recently announced Great British Insulation Scheme will upgrade around 300,000 of the country’s least energy efficient homes. Households could save £300-£400 each year as part of a £1 billion energy efficiency programme by March 2026.Consumers can also access the Government’s home retrofit tool ‘Find ways to save energy in your home’ on GOV.UK’. Users can get tailored recommendations for home improvements that could make their property cheaper to heat and keep warm.

Small Modular Reactors

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how much funding his Department has allocated for the (a) design and (b) construction of nuclear small modular reactors.

Andrew Bowie: In 2020, the Government committed up to £385m to an Advanced Nuclear Fund. Of this £385m, the Government has awarded up to £210m to support development of the Rolls Royce Small Modular Reactor (SMR) design. The Government has also set up Great British Nuclear (GBN) to drive delivery of new nuclear projects. GBN has launched a Technology Selection Process (TSP) to select the best SMR technologies. We will offer funding to support technology development and site-specific design; a close partnership with GBN, which will be ready and able to provide developer capability; and support in accessing sites. The total level of development funding will be subject to future Spending Reviews.

Heat Pumps

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of replacing electric central heating with heat pumps on levels of (a) fuel poverty and (b) carbon emissions.

Graham Stuart: The Government considers the impact of policies on fuel poor households, including those households that replace their electric heating with heat pumps. Heat pumps are around three times more efficient than direct electric heating, implying a two-thirds reduction in electricity consumption. The impact on carbon emissions will depend on the carbon intensity of the grid. Under current assumptions the Government estimates 9 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent reduction over the lifetime of the heat pump for a typical home that was heated by direct electric heating.

Carbon Emissions: Training

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has made an estimate of the number of workers who will need to retrain in the next 10 years as a result of the transition to net zero; and what support his Department is providing to help those workers to retrain.

Graham Stuart: The transition to net zero will provide opportunities to grow the economy and support hundreds of thousands of green, high skilled jobs. The North Sea Transition Deal is a global exemplar of how government can work with the energy sector to achieve a managed energy transition. To understand and address workforce demands across the economy, the Green Jobs Delivery Group is focused on creating a Net Zero and Nature Workforce Action Plan, which will be informed by several sectoral assessments on workforce needs. As part of this, skills passporting arrangements for the power and networks sectors is being explored.

Heat Pumps

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many air source heat pumps have been installed under Government support schemes since 1 January 2023.

Graham Stuart: Between 1 January 2023 and 31 May 2023, a total of 8,923 air source heat pumps were installed under Government support schemes.

Environment Protection: Job Creation

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many green jobs have been created in the last 12 months; and what estimate he has made of the number of green jobs that will be available over the next 10 years.

Graham Stuart: The Department does not hold data on the number of green jobs created since July 2023. Over 80,000 green jobs are being supported or are in the pipeline across the UK economy as a result of new government policies and spending since November 2020. Government policy and ambitions will support up to 480,000 jobs in 2030.

Renewable Energy: Manufacturing Industries

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to support domestic manufacturing of clean energy products; and what data his Department holds on the number of clean energy manufacturing facilities opened since July 2022.

Graham Stuart: In Powering Up Britain, the Government set out additional support for clean technology manufacturing, including:Launching the up to £160m Floating Offshore Wind Manufacturing Investment Scheme to support investment in port infrastructure for floating offshore wind.Launching the £30m Heat Pump Investment Accelerator to boost domestic heat pump manufacturing capacity. These interventions have helped secure opportunities for UK manufacturers. For example, through the Offshore Wind Manufacturing Investment Scheme Government supported SeAH Wind’s investment of over £400m to build a world leading monopile foundation manufacturing facility in Teesside, creating up to 800 jobs by 2030.

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

Horizon Europe

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether the UK's application to join the Horizon Europe Association is linked to the UK's joining the Euratom association.

George Freeman: The Government is moving forward with discussions on the UK’s involvement in EU programmes. Talks are ongoing across the full range of programmes, including Euratom. Whilst the government’s preference is to associate with Horizon, any deal must be value for money for taxpayers and in the best interests of UK science and research.

Drugs: Innovation and Testing

Virginia Crosbie: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to encourage (a) innovation and (b) an increase in the use of drug-testing methods that do not involve animals.

George Freeman: Government’s approach is to actively support and fund the development and dissemination of techniques that replace, reduce and refine the use of animals in research (the 3Rs), primarily through funding from UK Research and Innovation for the National Centre for the 3Rs (NC3Rs) - who have committed £31.6 million for research and innovation into these causes in the past 5 years - and to ensure that the UK has a robust regulatory system for licensing animal studies. The NC3Rs are on track to meet their commitment to invest 75% of their research and innovation budget on replacement technologies by the end of 2024.

Mathematics: Research

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to support foundational mathematical research.

George Freeman: I refer my Hon Member to the reply I gave in UIN 193652.

Space Technology

Dr Philippa Whitford: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent assessment she has made of the contribution of the space sector to (a) the economy and (b) upskilling the workforce.

George Freeman: The UK space sector is highly productive, employing almost 49,000 people. It is worth £17.5 billion in annual UK income with an average long-term growth rate of 6.4% since the turn of the millennium, outpacing growth of the wider UK economy (Size and Health of the UK Space Industry, 2022).The recently announced Space Workforce Action Plan will build on findings of the Space Skills Survey to inform intervention by government, industry, and academia, in continuing to upskill the sector’s workforce. The UK Space Agency additionally plan to invest over £4m in the next two years, to enhance access to training for current and potential space sector workers. This supports the Department for Education’s ambition to produce 200,000 people with high quality technical skills by 2030.

Satellites

Dr Philippa Whitford: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that Scotland and the UK build satellite capabilities to help support global leadership in that field.

George Freeman: As announced on 1 August 2023, the Government is working to establish the Connectivity in Low Earth Orbit (C-LEO) scheme, a potential £160 million R&D scheme to fund the next generation of satellite communications development and boost the UK’s leadership in the ever-growing global satellite market. The goal of the scheme would be to support suppliers across the UK in developing the technologies critical to the future of low Earth orbit satellite communications. These areas remain subject to change as the scheme develops but funding could go towards using AI to make data delivery faster, connecting satellites together for improved connection, and payload development.The C-LEO programme is currently in development. Launch of the scheme and commitment of any funding would be subject to standard Government business case and other approvals.

Space Technology: Scotland

Dr Philippa Whitford: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her polices of the Scottish Roadmap for a Sustainable Space Industry; and what steps her Department is taking to promote sustainability in that sector.

George Freeman: The sustainability of the space environment is a priority. The 2022 Plan for Space Sustainability includes measures to improve responsibility across the sector, including regulatory and international leadership, and developing new industry-led standards. We fund important projects with the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs, one implementing the Long-Term Sustainability Guidelines of Outer Space Activities, and another project on Registration of Space Objects. We will consult shortly on applying variable liability limits for satellite operations to reflect mission sustainability.The UK government will consider further the Scottish Space Sustainability Roadmap as thinking develops on how sustainability measures could be implemented.

Ministry of Justice

Parole System Root and Branch Review

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress his Department has made on implementing the recommendations in the report entitled Root and branch review of the parole system: the future of the parole system in England and Wales, published in March 2022.

Damian Hinds: We have made significant progress. Parole Board hearings can now be heard in public – there have been three so far. We have reformed the way indeterminate sentence prisoners are moved to open prison conditions by making sure that moves only happen if there is evidence they can be safely managed and there is low risk of them absconding. The Secretary of State will reject any recommendation from the Board where he is not satisfied there is a wholly persuasive case for transferring a prisoner. Regarding release decisions, the Secretary of State can now provide the Parole Board with an overarching view which takes account of all reports and available evidence, including any professional opinions offered by report writers pertaining to the prisoner’s suitability for release. In these cases, the Secretary of State will be represented at an oral hearing. In Part III of the Victims and Prisoners Bill, we are making the statutory release test more prescriptive and making clear that an offender must not be released unless the Board is confident there is no more than minimal risk to the public. We are increasing the number of Board members with a law enforcement background and the Bill will introduce the power to require them to sit on panels concerning the most serious offenders – the ‘’top-tier’’. The Bill also creates a power that will allow the Secretary of State to take a second look, on behalf of the public, at any decisions to release a top-tier prisoner. Another key recommendation was to establish a Parole System Oversight Group to explore and resolve whole-system operational issues across the parole system in England and Wales, such as delays. This Group has now been established and the inaugural meeting was held in June 2023.

Prisoners' Release

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners have been released at their Sentence End Date in each of the last 10 years for which data is available.

Damian Hinds: Prisoners(1) released on their Sentence End Date (SED) each year, 2013 to 2022, in England and WalesYear Releases2013 1,8542014 1,1792015 6802016 1,8492017 2,0682018 2,2282019 1,8712020 1,3462021 1,2192022 1,4271. Prisoners released from determinate sentences only.Note: In 2015 we made large-scale improvements to our data processes, therefore data for pre-2015 is not directly comparable.Data sources and quality The figures in this table have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.Source: Prison NOMIS PQ 195128 (Ministry of Justice; Data and Analysis (Directorate))For majority of sentences, a prisoner is required to serve part of the sentence in custody, with a period served in the community subject to licence. A prisoner may, however, be released at the expiry of their sentence as a result being recalled to custody from licence following initial release, or if enough additional days at adjudication have been awarded to defer release until the end of the sentence. Also, standard determinate sentences imposed for certain terrorist/terrorist connected offences, require the offender to serve the sentence in full (where parole is not granted earlier).

Prisoners' Transfers: Albania

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the prisoner transfer agreement with Albania.

Damian Hinds: A new Prisoner Transfer Agreement with Albania came into force in May 2022. In May 2023, we announced a complementary arrangement whereby the UK Government has agreed to provide support to modernise and expand the Albanian prison system and in return Albania has agreed to accept the return of up to 200 Albanian Nationals currently serving sentences of 4 years or more in the UK. The arrangement will save taxpayers’ money, as it is cheaper to house prisoners in Albania than in England and Wales and will also free up capacity in our prisons.The deal builds on the prisoner transfer agreement signed between the UK and Albania in 2021, which came into force in May 2022. This implementation package will ensure Albania has the right processes and prison capacity in place, meaning transfers can now proceed at pace.

Offenders: Employment

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate his Department has made of the number and proportion of people who were in employment six months after they have been released from prison in the last twelve months.

Damian Hinds: I am pleased to say that the proportion of prisoners released from custody who were employed at six months from their release has increased by nearly a third between April 2022 and March 2023, from 23.2% to over 30.4%.We are determined to increase the number of prison leavers securing employment on release to cut their chances of reoffending and so we can keep the public safe.We are offering more offenders the chance to work in prison and on release from custody, supported by our new, dedicated Prison Employment Leads, who are now in post at 92 prisons including all resettlement prisons.They provide case-level employment support and match prisoners to roles on release and head up our new Employment Hubs where prisoners can access support with job applications and CVs.We are building stronger links with employers, including through our prison Employment Advisory Boards which are chaired by local business leaders. They will provide challenge and advice on how to align the skills delivered in prisons with labour market demand, with Chairs now appointed in 92 prisons.Data on the number and proportion of people in employment after release from prison is published regularly and can be found on the Gov website at Employment Rates following Release from Custody - Ad Hoc - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Prisons: Education

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 3 July 2023 to Question 191280 on Prisons: Education, whether indexation occurred on 1 April 2023.

Damian Hinds: Indexation is applied on 1 April each year. The uplift for 2023-24 is based on the Consumer Price Index data for February, which were published by the Office for National Statistics on 22 March 2023: Consumer price inflation, UK: February 2023 - Office for National Statistics

Road Traffic Offences: Disqualification

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what data his Department holds on the average driving ban given to someone convicted of (a) causing death by dangerous driving, (b) causing death by carless driving and (c) failing to stop at the scene of an accident.

Edward Argar: The Ministry of Justice holds data on driving bans issued for individuals sentenced for specific driving offences, on a principal disposal basis. This is publicly available and can be viewed in the Outcomes by Offence tool: 2022. In the data tool, navigate to the ‘Sentence outcomes’ tab. Inside the PivotTable Fields box, remove ‘Average Custodial Sentence Length’ and ‘Average Fine’ out of the values box, and leave ‘Sentenced’ remaining. To view the length of driving bans issued, drag ‘Period of disqualification (MOT)’ into the ‘rows’ box. For outcomes relating to the specific offences requested, in the ‘HO offence code’ filter, select the below codes: (a) 00404 – Causing death by dangerous driving (MOT)(b) 00408 – Causing death by careless or inconsiderate driving (MOT)(c) 80501 – Failing to stop after an accident (MOT) The pivot table will now present the total sentenced and length of driving ban issued, at all courts from 2010 to 2022.

Rape: Victims

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Answer of 14 March 2022 to Question 134064 on Rape: Victims, if he will publish guidance on the application of the right to anonymity to victims of rape in cases in which (a) the rape occurred abroad and (b) the perpetrator was (i) a non-UK citizen, (ii) a British Overseas Territories citizen, (iii) a British National (Overseas) and (iv) a British Overseas citizen.

Edward Argar: The Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1992, which makes provision for automatic reporting restrictions to protect the identity of complainants in cases of rape and other serious sexual offences, extends to the United Kingdom and does not apply to criminal proceedings overseas. Where, however, an offence of rape is alleged to have been committed abroad by a UK national (including a person holding one of the categories of citizenship listed in the Question) or by someone resident in the UK, there is the possibility of asserting extra-territorial jurisdiction and trying the case in a UK court. In cases where that is done, the reporting restrictions in the 1992 Act would apply in the usual way.

Weddings: Passenger Ships

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the report entitled Celebrating Marriage: A New Weddings Law published by the Law Commission on 18 July 2022, HC 557, what steps the Government is taking to implement the changes proposed to permit weddings to take place under the law of England and Wales on board cruise ships registered in the UK.

Mike Freer: The Law Commission report on weddings contains 57 recommendations for legislative reform which we are currently considering, including recommendations in relation to cruise ships. Marriage will always be one of our most important institutions, and we have a duty to consider the implications of any changes to the law in this area very carefully. We will set out our position on the Law Commission’s recommendations relating to weddings reform in due course.

Judicial Appointments Commission for England and Wales

Helen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to help ensure that the Judicial Appointments Commission fulfils its statutory duty to select solely on merit.

Mike Freer: The Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) is independent from government. It has a statutory duty under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 to select on merit and to encourage diversity. The JAC is governed by an independent Board of Commissioners, appointed by His Majesty the King on the recommendation of the Lord Chancellor. A key objective of the Board is to ensure the JAC is upholding its statutory functions and duties, including to appoint solely on merit. Throughout the JAC’s selection process, there are several provisions in place to uphold its statutory requirement to select based on merit. This includes scrutiny by a Selection and Character Committee made up of the JAC’s Commissioners. The JAC submits annual reports to parliament about its performance and is also subject to triennial independent reviews. The Lord Chancellor also meets the JAC Chair regularly to discuss the Commission’s work. Any complaints about judicial recruitment decisions can be considered by the Judicial Appointments and Conduct Ombudsman, an independent body able to investigate complaints about the administration of the judicial appointment process.

Probate

Derek Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of processing times for probate applications.

Mike Freer: The probate service received record levels of applications during 2022 and this has continued to grow with significantly higher levels of receipts during January to March 2023. Whilst HMCTS has increased resources to meet the higher demand the training and upskilling of those new and existing staff has led to applications taking longer in the short term. HMCTS is focused on increasing outputs to reduce overall timeliness on all types of applications and the average length of time taken for a grant of probate, following receipt of the documents required, is 9 weeks during January to March 2023. Average waiting times for probate grants, are routinely published on gov.uk via Family Court Statistics Quarterly and currently cover the period up to March 2023.

Probate

Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of applications for probate were acknowledged as received by HM Courts and Tribunals Service following the submission of an online application and receipt of supporting paperwork within (a) 2, (b) 4, (c) 6, (d) 8 and (e) 10 weeks.

Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of applications for probate were processed by HM Courts and Tribunals Service within (i) 16, (ii) 20,(iii) 24, (iv) 28 and (v) 32 weeks in the latest period for which data is available.

Mike Freer: The online system automatically acknowledges receipt of all online applications at the point of submission and automatically acknowledges receipt of the documents, with 99% of users receiving an acknowledgement within 2 weeks. Some cases need manual intervention to acknowledge the receipt of documents, the most common reasons being the user hasn’t provided the case reference or provided an incorrect reference and the documents are submitted before the application. The attached table shows the proportion of applications for probate processed by HMCTS with 16, 20, 24, 28 and 32 weeks. Cases can be delayed where more information is needed from the applicant, an application to stop a case from an interested party is in place, or where cases are complex.Table (xlsx, 20.8KB)

Ministry of Justice: Remote Working

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what their Departments policy is on Civil Servants in their Department working from home and receiving the London Weighting Allowance.

Mike Freer: The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) does not offer London Weighting Allowance and instead has two pay locations:(1) London (if based inside the M25 corridor); and(2) National (if based outside the M25 corridor).Flexible working arrangements enable departments to make efficient use of resources, and the offer also ensures the Civil Service can attract and retain a diversity of talent. As part of this approach, the MoJ has developed hybrid working arrangements which typically require staff to spend 2-3 days in the office each week, and the option of 2-3 days working from home. This is an informal, non-contractual, locally agreed, flexible working arrangement. It does not involve changes to terms and conditions, and the majority of Civil Servants will be working on a hybrid basis or be entirely based in the workplace.

Ministry of Justice: Procurement

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress their Department have made on implementing Procurement Policy Note 06/21.

Mike Freer: The Ministry of Justice has implemented the requirements of PPN 06/21: Taking account of Carbon Reduction Plans in the procurement of major government contracts, where it is relevant to the subject matter of the contract and proportionate to do so. The Ministry of Justice has applied the PPN to 11 completed procurements since the PPN came into effect on 30 September 2021. Commercial teams from the Ministry of Justice have also attended training and awareness sessions provided by the Cabinet Office.

Ministry of Justice: Public Expenditure

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the audit findings set out on page 7 of the National Audit Office's report entitled Ministry of Justice Departmental Overview 2021-22, published in January 2023, if he will make an estimate of the total number of losses of more than £300,000 by his Department in each financial year since 2010.

Mike Freer: The losses greater than £300,000 are disclosed in the MOJ annual report and accounts each year. The accounts are published on gov.uk. The links below take you to each set of accounts. Page numbers for the losses disclosure is shown below. The losses for 2022-23 will be published when the MOJ Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23 is laid later this year.  YearPage numberLink to accounts2021-22Page 118Annual Report 2021-222020-21Page 123Annual Report 2020-212019-20Page 130Annual Report 2019-202018-19Page 100Annual Report 2018-192017-18Page 85Annual Report 2017-182016-17Page 77Annual Report 2016-172015-16Page 69Annual Report 2015-162014-15Page 113Annual Report 2014-152013-14Page 117Annual Report 2013-142012-13Page 139Annual Report 2012-132011-12Page 141Annual Report 2011-122010-11Page 170Annual Report 2010-11

Probate: Standards

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average time was for Probate to be granted, as of 19 July 2023.

Mike Freer: As of 19 July 2023, the most up to date published official statistics relating to average waiting times for probate grants is for the period of January to March 2023. Average waiting times are routinely published on gov.uk via Family Court Statistics Quarterly and can be found at: Family Court Statistics Quarterly: January to March 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). HMCTS are focused on reducing overall timeliness on all types of applications and the average mean length of time taken for a grant of probate, following receipt of the documents required, is 9 weeks.

Treatment of, and Outcomes for, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Individuals in the Criminal Justice System Independent Review

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 12 June 2023 to Question 188259 on Treatment of, and Outcomes for, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Individuals in the Criminal Justice System Independent Review, what the average sentence was for people convicted of grievous bodily harm with intent by (a) Crown Court and (b) the defendant’s (i) gender, (ii) ethnicity, and (iii) age in each of the last five years.

Edward Argar: The Ministry of Justice publishes information from 2010 to 2022 on the number of defendants prosecuted, convicted and sentenced for offences under Section 18 of Offences Against the Person Act 1861 (offence code 00501), in the ‘Outcomes by Offence’ data tool.The attached tables provide a breakdown of average custodial sentence length (ACSL) for defendants sentenced  for the offence contrary to Section 18 of the Offences Against Person Act 1861 (causing grievous bodily harm with intent) within the last three years, where it has been treated as a principal offence by Crown Court (table 1), and in all courts by information on gender (table 2), ethnicity (table 3), and age (table 4).Detailed offence data at Crown Court are only available in the Court Proceedings Database from 2020 onwards. Therefore, figures for all tables have been limited to 2020 onwards in order to give a complete view of each year presented.Table (xlsx, 24.4KB)Table (revised) (xlsx, 27.2KB)

Department of Health and Social Care

Heart Diseases: Mortality Rates

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress his Department has made in improving survival rates for cardiac arrests outside of hospitals; and what plans he has to increase the (a) number of public-facing public sector workers who have completed cardiac first aid training and (b) number and accessibility of defibrillators in public places.

Will Quince: The treatment and prevention of cardiovascular disease is a priority for the Government. We want people to have the best chance of survival from cardiac arrest, and rapid intervention is central to improving outcomes.This is why the Government has agreed to provide funding of £1 million to design a grant scheme for the expansion of Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) that expands the number and accessibility of publicly supported defibrillators NHS England have partnered with St John Ambulance to co-ordinate skills development to significantly increase the use of AEDs by individuals in community settings. This includes a national network of Community Advocates to champion the importance of first aid, training 60,000 people that will help save up to 4,000 lives each year by 2028. Many public sector organisations already provide first aid courses that include CPR and cardiac first aid training.

Department of Health and Social Care: Procurement

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress their Department have made on implementing Procurement Policy Note 06/21.

Will Quince: Procurement Policy Note (PPN) 06/21 introduced selection criteria for major government contracts to support the government’s commitment to achieving Net Zero by 2050; it requires bidding suppliers to provide a Carbon Reduction Plan confirming their commitment to achieving Net Zero by 2050 in the UK. The plan must also set out the environmental management measures they have in place, and those which will be in effect and utilised during the performance of the contract.The Department has implemented the requirements of the PPN within commercial practices. Procurement leads refer to the PPN and the guidance for all Public Contract Regulation procurements where the contract is £5 million per annum or above (where it is related and proportionate to the contract).Commercial teams from the Department have attended training and awareness sessions provided by the Cabinet Office and the Department itself.

Health Services: Women

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies on the implementation of the Women's Health Strategy for England of the implementation of the Scottish Women’s Health Plan.

Maria Caulfield: We have no plans to make an assessment.

Health Services: Women

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Women’s Health Ambassador for England has met with the Women’s Health Plan team in Wales.

Maria Caulfield: The Women’s Health Ambassador for England has not met with the Women’s Health Plan team in Wales.

Abortion: Drugs

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the implications for his policies of the (a) side effects of abortion pills and (b) rate and severity of complications that arise from abortion pills taken at home instead of in a clinic.

Maria Caulfield: No formal assessment has been made on either of the points raised. Like any medication, some women may experience side effects from taking abortion pills. In accordance with clinical guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence on abortion care, services should provide all women with information on what to expect during and after an abortion and how to identify signs and symptoms that indicate they need to seek medical attention and who to contact if they do.

Abortion: Drugs

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of changes in the level of costs to the NHS since the (a) approval of taking the second abortion pill at home in 2018 and (b) temporary approval during the pandemic and subsequent permanent approval of taking both abortion pills at home in 2022.

Maria Caulfield: No such estimate has been made.

Mental Health Services: Further Education and Schools

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 18 July 2023 to Question 193133 on Mental Health Services: Further Education and Schools, what his Department's definition is of a mental health team in (a) schools and (b) colleges.

Maria Caulfield: Mental Health Support Teams have three core functions: to deliver evidence-based interventions for mild-to-moderate mental health issues; support the senior mental health lead (where established) in each school or college to introduce or develop whole school or college approach; and give timely advice to school and college staff and liaise with external specialist service to help children and young people to get the right support and stay in education.

Mental Health Services: Children and Young People

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 18 July 2023 to Question 193134 on Mental Health Services: Children and Young People, when she plans that the national access and waiting times standards for these services in England will be (a) defined and (b) set.

Maria Caulfield: NHS England plans to publish data on community mental health longest waits in autumn 2023 using their proxy measure of how long to receive one or more contacts for children and young people, or two or more contacts for adults. NHS England plans to publish the full community mental health waiting times proposed in spring 2024. This will start to move away from only measuring contacts and will broaden focus on meaningful activities and improved outcomes.

Health Services: Wirral South

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 18 July 2023 to Question 193607 on Health Services: Wirral South, what steps his Department is taking to reduce waiting times for treatment on the Wirral.

Will Quince: The Government has committed more than £8 billion from 2022/23 to 2024/25 to drive up and protect elective activity across England including the Wirral. This is supported further by £5.9 billion investment in capital for new beds, equipment, and technology. In July 2022 we met our target to virtually eliminate long waits of two years or more for elective procedures, and significantly reduced the number of patients waiting 18 months or more by April 2023 by over 91% from the peak in September 2021. We have now moved our focus to cutting waits of 65 weeks or more to as near zero as possible by March 2024; this includes patients waiting for treatment in the Wirral. Capacity is being sought across the National Health Service and the independent sector locally, regionally and across the country to support efforts in hitting this target. From October 2023, all patients waiting over 40 weeks where a decision to treat a patient has been made but the patient does not have a date for their treatment will be able to initiate a request to transfer to another provider and receive treatment more quickly via the Patient Initiated Digital Mutual Aid System.

Health: Disadvantaged

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to include proposals to tackle the socioeconomic causes of health inequalities in the Major Conditions Strategy.

Neil O'Brien: The Strategy’s approach will be rooted in the best understanding of the evidence to tackle the major conditions which contribute to the burden of disease in England, namely Cancers; Cardiovascular diseases, including stroke and diabetes; Chronic respiratory diseases; Dementia; Mental ill health and Musculoskeletal disorders. These areas account for around 60% of total Disability Adjusted Life Years in England. Tackling them is critical to achieving our manifesto commitment of gaining five extra years of Healthy Life Expectancy by 2035, and our levelling up mission to narrow the gap in Healthy Life Expectancy in the least and most deprived areas by 2030 which should take account of socio-economic factors.

Dental Services

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of the number of (a) adult and (b) child NHS dental patients in (i) England and (ii) York who have seen a dentist in the last 12 months.

Neil O'Brien: NHS Digital publishes Dental Statistics for England, which is available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-dental-statistics/2021-22-annual-report Official guidance states that adults with good oral healthcare should be seen by a dentist once every 24 months and that children should be seen by a dentist once every 12 months. Therefore, the data is published in this format, so that the number of adults regularly visiting their dentist can be shown.The following table shows data on the number of adults and children seen by dentists for National Health Service treatment in the 12- or 24-month periods to June 2022. Data for 2022/23 is not yet published. Number of adults seen by an NHS dentist in York *Number of adults seen by an NHS dentist in England*Number of children seen by an NHS dentist in York**Number of children seen by an NHS dentist in England **66,44716,409,63620, 5765,589,201 *Previous 24 months to June 2022**Previous 12 months to June 2022

Dentistry: Migrant Workers

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many dentists from overseas have (a) completed their overseas exams in the last 12 months and are practicing in the NHS and (b) are waiting to sit their exams to practice in the NHS.

Neil O'Brien: The General Dental Council (GDC) is the independent statutory regulator of dentists and dental care professionals in the United Kingdom. During the period 1 January to 31 December 2022, 160 overseas-qualified dentists passed its Overseas Registration Exam (ORE) and were added to its register, which is available at the following link:https://www.gdc-uk.org/about-us/what-we-do/the-registers/registration-reports.Neither the GDC nor the Department holds data on whether a registrant is practising in the National Health Service or privately.As of 27 July 2023, the number of candidates currently in the ORE system and eligible to take the exam are 1,579 for Part 1 and 470 for Part 2. However, it is not known how many of these candidates are actively seeking to complete both parts of the ORE and proceed to become registered with the GDC.Once they enter the ORE system, candidates will proceed through it at different rates, depending on when they are ready to progress to each stage, or whether they want to complete the process at all.

Department of Health and Social Care: Remote Working

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what their Departments policy is on Civil Servants in their Department working from home and receiving the London Weighting Allowance.

Will Quince: Flexible working is a fundamental aspect of the Department’s employment offer which is consistent with other sectors. Flexible working arrangements enable the Department to make efficient use of resources, and ensure that it can attract and retain a diversity of talent.As part of this approach, the Department offers hybrid working arrangements which requires civil servants to spend a minimum of two days in the office each week, and the option of working from home the remainder of the time. Most Departmental employees will be working on a hybrid basis or be entirely based in the workplace.Pay arrangements, including for staff based in London, are delegated to each department. In the Department, London weighting has been consolidated into an inner London and outer London pay range. Employees on these pay ranges are expected to attend the office they are tagged to in line with hybrid working arrangements.

Respiratory Syncytial Virus: Vaccination

Maggie Throup: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to make a recommendation on a future Respiratory Syncytial Virus Immunisation Programme.

Maria Caulfield: Policy options based on the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation’s advice on a potentially expanded vaccination programme for respiratory syncytial virus are currently being developed by the Department, working with the UK Health Security Agency and NHS England. The Government will then announce its plans once complete.

Diagnosis: Yorkshire and the Humber

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of patients waiting more than six weeks for diagnostic tests in the areas covered by the Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board.

Will Quince: In February 2022 the National Health Service published the “Delivery plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlog of elective care”. This plan set out a series of commitments to reduce the backlog, including that 95% of patients needing a diagnostic test should receive it within six weeks by March 2025.To meet this commitment, we are rolling out a network of up to 160 Community Diagnostic Centres (CDCs) across the country to deliver additional, digitally connected, diagnostic capacity in England. These will deliver up to 17 million tests by March 2025, having added the capacity for nine million more per year once they are all fully operational.As of July 2023, 114 CDCs are operational, and have delivered over 4.4 million tests, checks, and scans since July 2021. This includes three operational CDCs within the Humber and North Yorkshire which have conducted 63,565 tests since September 2021.

Brain Cancer: Genetics

Derek Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of 18 July 2023 to Question 193957 on Brain Cancer: Genetics and the report by OurBrainBank entitled Glioblastoma, The neglected disease in the cancer treatment revolution, published July 2023, what assessment he has made for the potential implications for his polices that OurBrainBank research estimated that whole genome sequencing analysis was carried out on approximately 1.6% of brain tumour patients and 1.3% of glioblastoma patients diagnosed since April 2021.

Will Quince: Genomic testing for glioblastoma is included in the National Genomic Test Directory. This testing can be delivered using a range of technologies, one of which is whole genome sequencing (WGS). All patients will be offered Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) technology (large cancer gene panels) to ensure that a patient receives the most appropriate genomic testing depending on their individual circumstances. Anyone who meets the eligibility criteria outlined in the National Genomic Test Directory will be able to access this genomic testing offer. Between January 2022 and June 2023, 505 patients have been referred for WGS because of a suspected glioblastoma or brain tumour diagnosis. In addition to WGS, during 2022/2023, 14,800 genomics tests were performed for neurological tumours, including 3,145 NGS cancer gene panels.NHS England has not undertaken any formal assessment of the report by OurBrainBank entitled Glioblastoma and is not aware of any research that demonstrates any clinical benefit of WGS over other genomic technologies (i.e., large cancer gene panels) for glioblastoma; however, work is ongoing to evaluate the potential benefits. This will inform future commission decisions made by NHS England.

Tobacco

Paul Bristow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to Question 135 of his oral evidence to the Health and Social Care Committee on 20 June 2023, HC 1093, whether his Department plans to implement the recommendation in the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities report entitled Nicotine Vaping in England: 2022 evidence update summary, published on 29 September 2022, by requesting that the Committee on Toxicity update their review, entitled Statement on the toxicological evaluation of novel heat-not-burn tobacco products, published in December 2017.

Neil O'Brien: There are no current plans to request the Committee on Toxicity to update their review on heat-not-burn tobacco products. However, the Office for Health Improvements and Disparities will continue to monitor international evidence related to the health harms of these products.

Smoking: Children

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of the number and proportion of school-age children who (a) smoke cigarettes and (b) use (i) vapes and (ii) e-cigarettes.

Neil O'Brien: Data on the number and proportion of school-age children aged 11 to 15 years who are regular vapers is available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/smoking-drinking-and-drug-use-among-young-people-in-england/2021The latest data available for 2021 shows that the number of children aged 11 to 15 years who currently smoke cigarettes is 101,189, equating to 3%, while the number of children in the same age group who currently use vapes (e-cigarettes) is 288,159, equating to 8.6%.Survey data from Action on Smoking and Health on youth vaping from 2023 is also available at the following link:https://ash.org.uk/resources/view/use-of-e-cigarettes-among-young-people-in-great-britain

Electronic Cigarettes: Children

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had recent discussions with Cabinet colleagues on taking steps to limit the access of children to (a) vapes and (b) e-cigarettes.

Neil O'Brien: The Government recently ran a call for evidence on youth vaping (using an e-cigarette) which closed on 6 June 2023. This will identify opportunities to reduce the number of children accessing and using vaping products and explore where the Government can go further. We will respond later this year.

Hospices: Children

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will provide ongoing support to children’s hospice support grants.

Helen Whately: In June 2023, NHS England confirmed that it would be renewing the Children and Young People’s Hospice Grant for 2024/25, once again allocating £25 million grant funding for children’s hospices. NHS England will confirm the funding mechanism and individual allocations in due course.

Hospices: Government Assistance

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will take steps to provide support to hospices for end-of-life care units.

Helen Whately: As stated in the Health and Care Act 2022, integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning palliative and end of life care services, which may include services delivered by independent charitable hospices such as end of life care units, in response to the needs of their local population. ICBs determine the distribution of this funding according to local need, including to providers such as hospices.

Ultrasonics

Peter Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 5 July 2023 to Question 191810 on Ultrasonics, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential impact of increasing access to MR-Guided Focused Ultrasound treatments on (a) the ability of patients to return to work and (b) the economy.

Helen Whately: We have no plans to make an assessment.

Antimicrobials: Drug Resistance

Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the funding for antimicrobial resistance research through the Global AMR Innovation Fund, whether his Department has a long-term investment strategy for stimulating non-profit innovation to help tackle antimicrobial resistance.

Maria Caulfield: Research and innovation are crucial pillars of activity under the Government’s five-year National Action Plan (NAP), covering the period 2019 to 2024, for tackling antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and will continue to be a priority under the next NAP. The Government is currently developing this second five-year NAP, which will run from 2024 to 2029. This includes development of a series research priorities, commitments, and deliverables.As part of this approach, the Global AMR Innovation Fund (GAMRIF) is a One Health UK aid fund that supports research and development around the world to reduce the threat of AMR in humans, animals, and the environment for the benefit of people in low- and middle-income countries. GAMRIF collaborates with academia, non-profit global initiatives, industry, and governments to support innovation and product development, while also ensuring sustained investment from other global donors to tackle AMR.

Dental Services: Contracts

Derek Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many dental contract pilots have been conducted since 2010; and what the findings were of those pilots.

Neil O'Brien: From 2011, the Department ran one pilot, followed by one prototype contract in a limited number of dental practices, to test a new form of contract remuneration for National Health Service work, based on a capitation approach.Assessment of the pilots suggested that if they were implemented as designed, the proposed contract model would not maintain dental access for patients, reduce oral health inequalities, or offer overall sustainability within available resources for the NHS. Nevertheless, these pilots and prototypes provided good insight and learning, and will inform future contract reform.The programme closed at the end of March 2022, and the Department published a full report on the prototype programme on 23 January 2023, which is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dental-conract-reform-evaluating-the-results-of-the-prototype-scheme

Dental Services: Cornwall

Derek Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of NHS dental contracts were handed back to NHS England in Cornwall in the 2021-22 financial year.

Neil O'Brien: During 2021/22 there were 81 dental practices providing National Health Service dental care in Cornwall. One NHS dental practice closed in Wadebridge during 2021/22, which equated to 1.23% of all practices, and 2.87% of the total dental activity in Cornwall.

Dentistry: South West

Derek Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential impact of setting a minimum Unit of Dental Activity rate of £30 on the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of NHS dental professionals in (i) the South West, (ii) St Ives, (iii) West Cornwall and (iv) the Isles of Scilly.

Neil O'Brien: We have no plans to make such an assessment.From 1 April 2023, responsibility for commissioning primary care dentistry to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. ICBs have flexibility to work with contractors within the bounds of the current contractual framework as set out in the current General Dental Service contract and Personal Dental Service agreement regulations. At its discretion, an ICB may choose to negotiate with a contractor to decrease or increase the indicative Unit of Dental Activity rate of their contract, the Negotiated Annual Contract Value. Any variation should be for reasonable and appropriate circumstances only and demonstrate value for money and improve access for patients.In July 2022, we announced a package of dental system improvements to increase access for dental patients in the National Health Service and make NHS dentistry more attractive to practices. We will announce our plan for further reform of the NHS dental system shortly.

Dental Services: Contracts

Derek Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made a comparative assessment of geographic variations in the rates of Units of Dental Activity for NHS dental contracts.

Neil O'Brien: Variations in rates of Units of Dental Activity (UDA) reflect local markets and the varying costs of delivering National Health Service dental treatment across the country. We have worked with the British Dental Association to establish and implement a minimum UDA value of £23. This will help support practices with historically low UDA rates.

Dental Services: Cornwall

Derek Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding was recovered by NHS England from dental providers in Cornwall in 2021-22; and how much recovered funding was reallocated for the delivery of NHS dentistry in (i) Cornwall and (ii) St Ives, West Cornwall and Isles of Scilly.

Neil O'Brien: Sums recovered from dentists in Cornwall for underperformance on contracts during 2021/2022 amounted to £4,562,496. The amount recovered is not available for reinvestment in the same financial year due to the calculations being finalised in the following financial year. Dental contracts are paid at the start of each financial year at 100% and so all contractors receive their full contract value to deliver activity in 2022/23.£334,049.67 was recovered from under-performance of commissioned activity from the 2020/21 contract year and was reinvested for additional urgent dental care appointments in 2021/22.

Dementia: Diagnosis

Derek Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps NHS England is taking to increase diagnoses of dementia.

Helen Whately: In December 2022, the recovery of the dementia diagnosis rate to the national ambition of 66.7% was included in the National Health Service priorities and operational planning guidance, as part of the refined mental health objectives for 2023/24. This reinforces the importance of dementia as a key priority for NHS England and provides a clear direction for integrated care boards to support delivery of timely diagnoses within systems.

Dentistry: Cornwall

Derek Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many dental professionals were (a) registered as practicing (i) full- and (ii) part-time and (b) performed more than one course of NHS treatment a month in Cornwall in the 2021-22 financial year.

Neil O'Brien: Published data is not held on how many dentists are registered as full- and part- time by location. 261 dentists delivered more than one course of National Health Service treatment in Cornwall and The Isles of Scilly Integrated Care Board

Vaccination: Older People

Maggie Throup: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether people in the 50 to 64 age cohort will o be included for vaccination in the 2023/24 winter season.

Maria Caulfield: The Department is guided by the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) on the approach to the immunisation programmes in England. Details about the flu vaccination programme for 2023/24, including which groups will be eligible for a free vaccine and the vaccines that will be reimbursable to National Health Service providers, were published on 25 May 2023. The groups eligible for a free flu vaccine for the 2023 to 2024 season include those aged 65 years and over and those aged six months to under 65 years in clinical risk groups.During the COVID-19 pandemic, eligibility for the influenza programme was temporarily extended to include all adults aged between 50 and 64 years of age to protect the population from the potential threat of cocirculation of COVID-19 and influenza and alleviate pressure on the NHS. In the JCVI’s advice for the 2023/24 programme published in November 2022, it stated that whilst there would be a health benefit in vaccinating low risk 50–64-year-olds, it is uncertain whether this would be cost effective and that the overall priority should be to extend the childhood programme in secondary schools as this would be more cost effective and likely to have a greater impact on morbidity and mortality compared with vaccinating 50-64 year olds. An expansion of the flu programme to include secondary school-aged children was announced on 4 July 2023.

Surgery

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS operations have been postponed as a result of strikes by doctors in the last six months.

Will Quince: Despite best efforts by organisations to mitigate the impacts of all strike action, in the last six months approximately 645,001 appointments have been rescheduled due to strike action from doctors.

Brain Cancer: Research

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding his Department (a) allocated to and (b) spent on research on brain tumours in each year since 2018.

Will Quince: In May 2018 the Government announced £40 million for brain tumour research as part of the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).The £40m funding will remain available; if we can spend more on the best quality science, we will do. The level of funding for brain tumour research depends on funding applications received. It is worth noting that all applications to NIHR that have been assessed as “fundable” in open competition have been funded and this will continue.The following table shows NIHR’s committed spend on research into brain tumours in each year since 2018:2018/192019/202020/212021/222022/23£2.9 million£432,000£2.1 million£5.3 million£746,873 Additionally, NIHR research infrastructure supports brain tumour research studies, mainly in the National Health Service. This infrastructure – people and facilities - is instrumental to the delivery of research funded by the NIHR, charities and others. Resources are significant, though it is difficult to disaggregate purely brain tumour spend to add to the figures above.

Smoking: Young People

Karl McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data his Department holds on the uptake of (a) cigarettes, (b) vapes, (c) HTPs and d) nicotine pouches by young people in each of the last five years.

Neil O'Brien: The Department does not hold this information in the format requested. However, we can estimate the change in vape and smoking use amongst young people, between 2018-2021, using the data available in the Smoking, Drinking and Drug use publication, which is available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/smoking-drinking-and-drug-use-among-young-people-in-england/2021Unfortunately, we cannot estimate this for HTPs or nicotine pouches as we do not hold this data.The number of children aged 11 to 15 years who currently smoke cigarettes is at 101,189 (3.3%), down from 2018 where 159,240 children were current smokers (5%). The number of children in the same age group who currently use vapes (e-cigarettes) is 288,159, (8.6%), up from 188,332 (5.9%) in 2018.Survey data from Action on Smoking and Health on youth vaping from 2023 in Great Britain shows similar trends related to youth smoking and youth vaping. The data is available at the following link:https://ash.org.uk/resources/view/use-of-e-cigarettes-among-young-people-in-great-britain

Endoscopy: Gosport

Dame Caroline Dinenage: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department plans to take with NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care System to increase the delivery of endoscopy procedures for patients in Gosport constituency.

Will Quince: £2.3 billion was awarded at the 2021 Spending Review to transform diagnostic services over the next three years to increase diagnostic capacity, including for endoscopy services. This funding will also increase the number of Community Diagnostic Centres up to 160 by March 2025, including a number delivering endoscopy services.Cutting National Health Service waiting lists, including for endoscopy services, is one of this government’s top priorities. This is a shared ambition amongst integrated care systems (ICSs), including the NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight ICS. Priorities are set locally through joint strategic needs assessments as part of joint forward plans across the ICS and partnering NHS trusts.There are currently nine sites delivering diagnostics for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. This includes the provision of endoscopy services at some sites.In the South East Hampshire Locality which includes Portsmouth, Fareham and Gosport, 1,908 additional endoscopy tests have been delivered closer to people’s homes, increasing earlier access to endoscopy procedures.

Endoscopy: Portsmouth

Dame Caroline Dinenage: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much and what proportion of funding provided to the NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight integrated care system for diagnostic funding was spent on diagnostic endoscopy procedures in NHS Portsmouth in the 2022-23 financial year.

Will Quince: This information is not held in the format requested.£2.3 billion was awarded at the 2021 Spending Review to transform diagnostic services over the next three years to increase diagnostic capacity, including for endoscopy services. This funding will also increase the number of Community Diagnostic Centres to 160 by March 2025, including a number delivering endoscopy services.

Junior Doctors: Pay

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the cost to the public purse of the pay demand made by the British Medical Association junior doctors committee.

Will Quince: The British Medical Association junior doctors committee has asked for an average pay rise of around 35% from 2021-22 pay scales. This would cost over £2 billion on top of the existing pay award to junior doctors for 2022/23.This is an estimate of the expected cost if the pay rise were given in 2023/24. The exact cost will vary depending on the workforce size and composition. It represents the gross cost of the uplift payable from National Health Service funding, covering junior doctors working in hospital and general practitioner settings, and allowing for full system costs beyond the substantive workforce.

Essential Tremor: Magnetic Resonance Imagers

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 4 July 2023 to Question 191296 on patient waiting times for MR-Guided Focused Ultrasound (MRgFUS) treatment for Essential tremor, what assessment his Department made of the adequacy of the capacity of the two MRgFUS treatment centres on reducing wait times for Essential Tremor patients.

Will Quince: There are two trusts in the National Health Service that support MR-Guided Focussed Ultrasound (MRgFUS) treatment for essential tremor. These are Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust.Imperial NHS Trust has 12 magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners listed within the 2021-22 National Imaging Data Collection. With the addition of new Community Diagnostic Centres across the trust’s network, capacity for MRI will be increased further which should provide support for a reduction in waiting times.The Walton Centre has five MRI scanners listed within the 2021-22 National Imaging Data Collection.With this number of MRI scanners, NHS England assesses that there will be sufficient MRI capacity to deliver MRgFUS treatment for local Essential Tremor patients. The Department continues to work with NHS England to support systems to maximise the utilisation of these MRI scanners which should in turn support a reduction in waiting times for services.

Kidney Diseases: Health Services

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish the funding allocations for the Renal Clinical Networks for 2024-25 and 2025-26.

Will Quince: National specialised commissioning funding for clinical networks is recurrent and, as with all other financial allocations, is reviewed on an annual basis and at a regional level.NHS England does not publish the funding allocations for specialised commissioning services such as the Renal Clinical Network. It does however intend to ring-fence the overall level of funding available for clinical networks to enable the continued support and development of key specialised services post-full delegation to integrated care boards.

Cancer: Medical Treatments

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he is taking steps to reduce waiting times for cancer treatment in (a) Romford constituency, (b) the London Borough of Havering and (c) England.

Will Quince: To support elective recovery and reduce waiting times in England, including for cancer treatment, the Government has taken steps by working with NHS England to publish the delivery plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlogs in elective care in February 2022.To deliver this plan the Government plans to spend more than £8 billion from 2022/23 to 2024/25 to help drive up and protect elective activity, including cancer diagnosis. This will further be supported by the additional £3.3 billion of funding in each of the next two years announced at the Autumn Statement to support the National Health Service, enabling rapid action to improve emergency, elective and primary care performance towards pre-pandemic levels.To support delivery of our cancer care priorities, including expanding treatment capacity across NHS hospital trusts, the Government is providing over £390 million in cancer service development funding to Cancer Alliances in each of the next two years.In addition the Government has awarded £2.3 billion to transform diagnostic services over the next three years. Most of this will help increase the number of Community Diagnostic Centres (CDCs) up to 160 by March 2025, prioritising CDCs for cancer diagnostics.

NHS: Pay

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to allow NHS staff (a) who were employed after 31 March 2023 and (b) who returned to work after 31 March 2023 following sabbatical or illness to be eligible for the pay rise included in the NHS Pay Deal.

Will Quince: The non-consolidated payments cover staff directly employed by National Health Service organisations, for example, staff on permanent and fixed term contracts, as set out in Annex 1 of the handbook on Agenda for Change terms as of 31 March 2023. Staff employed after 31 March 2023 will not be eligible for the 2022/23 non-consolidated award. All eligible staff should receive the 5% consolidated increase for 2023/24, regardless of their joining date.Employers should ensure that staff on long-term sick leave, where appropriate, receive the non-consolidated payments. For those on career breaks, local employers should determine this on a case-by-case basis.

Transplant Surgery: Prescriptions

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to exempt transplant patients from paying prescription charges.

Neil O'Brien: There are no plans to review or extend the National Health Service prescription charge medical exemptions to include people who have received an organ transplant. For those ineligible for an exemption on medical grounds, arrangements are in place to assist with the affordability of prescriptions, including exemptions for which people with a long-term medical condition may already qualify. Approximately 89% of NHS prescription items are dispensed in the community free of charge.

Cancer: Research

Kim Leadbeater: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 6 July 2023 to Question 192241 on Cancer: Research, what steps the Government plans to take to ensure an adequate (a) level and (b) coordination of cancer research, in the context of the closure of the National Cancer Research Institute.

Will Quince: The Government is monitoring the situation through the National Institute for Health and Care Research and the Medical Research Council to ensure that the National Cancer Research Institute’s (NCRI) valuable assets, such as data, and activities, such as research groups, are not lost to the community.The Government will also take necessary steps to support the cancer research ecosystem, in discussion with NCRI partners, if additional support is needed. Funders will continue to work with the research community to deliver cancer research that meets the needs of patients and the public. We recognise the leadership role that Cancer Research UK has in this area and will work in partnership with them and the patient community to improve care and outcomes for all.

Maternal Mortality

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help reduce maternal mortality.

Maria Caulfield: In March 2023, NHS England published its three-year delivery plan for maternity and neonatal services. The delivery plan will make maternity and neonatal care safer, more personalised, and more equitable for women, babies, and families.NHS England has developed 14 Maternal Medicine Networks across England, to ensure that all women with chronic and acute medical problems have access to specialist management and care from physicians and obstetrics, tackling the biggest contributors to maternal mortality.Mental health services around England are being expanded to include new mental health “hubs” for new, expectant, or bereaved mothers. The 33 new maternal mental health services will provide psychological therapy, maternity services, and reproductive health for women with mental health needs following trauma or loss related to their maternity experience. These will be available across England by March 2024.

Compulsorily Detained Psychiatric Patients: Enfield North

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people have been sectioned under mental health legislation in Enfield North constituency in each of the last four years.

Maria Caulfield: The information requested has been provided for Enfield Council, as the nearest equivalent to the Enfield North constituency at which data is held. YearNumber of detentions1 under the Mental Health ActNumber of people subject to detention2018/194053252019/204103252020/214553552021/222420345 Source: NHS England Notes: The difference between the number of detentions and the number of people subject to detention is due to patients who have been repeatedly detained. 1 Does not include uses of section 136 where the place of safety was a police station.2 Data beyond after March 2022 were impacted by a cyber incident, so have not been included.

Maternity Services: Enfield North

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to (a) ensure adequate staffing levels for maternity services in Enfield North constituency and (b) support families affected by (i) miscarriage and (ii) stillbirth.

Maria Caulfield: The Government has added £165 million of recurring investment to the annual maternity budget since 2021, to grow and support the maternity workforce and improve neonatal care, including maternity services in Enfield North Constituency.The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan sets out the steps the National Health Service and its partners need to take to deliver a workforce for the NHS that meets the changing needs of the population over the next 15 years. It will put the workforce on a sustainable footing for the long term.The Government is backing the plan with over £2.4 billion over the next five years to fund additional education and training places over five years. This is on top of increases to education and training investment, reaching a record £6.1 billion over the next two years.Additionally, the NHS People Plan has been developed to focus on improving the retention of NHS staff by prioritising staff health and wellbeing. £45 million has been invested in 2022/23 to support the continuation of 40 mental health hubs across the country, the Professional Nurse Advocates programme, and expanding the NHS Practitioner Health service.Mental health services around England are being expanded to include new mental health “hubs” for new, expectant, or bereaved mothers. The 33 new maternal mental health services will provide psychological therapy, maternity services, and reproductive health for women with mental health needs following trauma or loss related to their maternity experience. These will be available across England by March 2024.

Chase Farm Hospital: Urgent Treatment Centres

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of staffing levels at Chase Farm Urgent Care Centre.

Will Quince: No specific assessment has been made. Staffing levels are determined locally and are informed by national guidance for safe staffing.

WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control

Mark Jenkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the adequacy of the transparency of the Conference of the Parties of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

Neil O'Brien: No assessment has been made.

Health Services: Women

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with counterparts in Wales on (a) the Welsh Women’s Health Plan and (b) England’s Women’s Health Strategy; and if he will publish minutes of those meetings.

Maria Caulfield: Details of ministerial meetings are routinely published on GOV.UK.

Mental Health Services: Mothers

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department are taking to improve access to Specialist Perinatal and Maternal Mental Health Services.

Maria Caulfield: The NHS Long Term Plan includes a commitment for 66,000 women to access specialist perinatal mental health services available from preconception to 24 months after birth by March 2024.This includes 35 maternal mental health services which are currently live. These services continue to be rolled out and will be available across England by 2024. These bring together psychological therapy, maternity services and reproductive health for women who have mental health needs following trauma or loss related to their maternity experience. They will also offer an evidence-based mental health assessment and signposting as required to fathers and partners of women accessing specialist perinatal mental health services and maternal mental health services.As part of the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme, the Department is investing around £100 million to promote positive early relationships and provide mental health support for families in 75 local authorities. This complements activity in the NHS Long Term Plan by including support for mild to moderate perinatal mental health difficulties and for fathers and co-parents.

Mental Health Services: Cost of Living

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to provide additional mental health support for people affected by rises in the cost of living.

Maria Caulfield: We remain committed to the aims of the NHS Long Term Plan, investing at least £2.3 billion of extra funding a year in expanding and transforming mental health services in England by March 2024. This extra funding will enable an extra two million people, including those who are affected by rises in the cost of living, to be treated by mental health services in the National Health Service by March 2024.We have also been working with Treasury and the Money and Pensions Service to promote the Mental Health Breathing Space scheme. The Breathing Space scheme has been set up to provide support to people who are in debt and receiving mental health crisis treatment to essentially give people a ‘pause’ in their debt repayments so they can focus on recovery.

Health Services: Women

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Women’s Health Ambassador for England has met with the Women’s Health Champion for Scotland.

Maria Caulfield: The Women’s Health Ambassador for England has not met with the Women’s Health Champion for Scotland.

NHS: Staff

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS staff working in Warwick and Leamington constituency have left their post by job type in each year since 2010.

Will Quince: Data is not available by constituency; however, NHS England publishes the number of joiners and leavers by National Health Service trusts. The latest annual and monthly turnover data for South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust, which is the corresponding local trust, is available at the following link:https://files.digital.nhs.uk/3B/E563FB/Turnover%20from%20organisation%20benchmarking%20tool%2C%20March%202023.xlsx

Influenza: Economic Situation

Maggie Throup: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the economic impact of influenza.

Maria Caulfield: The Department is guided by the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) on the approach to the immunisation programmes in England. Their decision is informed by the cost effectiveness of different vaccines and different vaccine policies, which evaluate the health impacts of vaccines versus the costs. However, they do not consider the impact on the economy. The Department will continue to be guided by JCVI advice, which is based on a cost-effectiveness approach to appraising vaccines.The Department’s objective is to improve the health of the population. Influenza has a significant impact in terms of morbidity and mortality. It will also have an economic impact, as do most other health conditions. Vaccines are the best defence we have against respiratory infections such as flu. They provide good protection against hospitalisation and death. They also reduce the risk of long-term symptoms.

Coronavirus and Influenza: Vaccination

Maggie Throup: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of changing eligible age cohorts for annual flu vaccination on the uptake of (a) influenza and (b) covid-19 vaccines.

Maria Caulfield: Vaccine uptake rates are considered in the planning for future vaccination programmes. However, no assessment has been made of the potential impacts of changes to the eligibility criteria for flu and COVID-19 vaccines on vaccine uptake rates. This is because the primary aim of the COVID-19 and flu vaccination programme continues to be the prevention of severe disease (hospitalisation and mortality) and vaccination is therefore offered to those at greatest risk of serious disease.

Coronavirus and Influenza: Vaccination

Maggie Throup: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will ringfence budgets to promote vaccine uptake for (a) flu and (b) covid-19 for the 2023/24 winter season.

Maria Caulfield: It is vitally important that everyone takes up the vaccinations to which they are entitled; for themselves, their families and wider society. The Department continues to use the best available evidence to demonstrate the health benefits of vaccinations at both a personal and population level, and highlights these messages through regular media, stakeholder and social media engagement. The Department also works closely with both NHS England and the UK Health Security Agency to develop vaccination guides and patient facing consent resources to demonstrate the benefits of vaccinations for all, as well as ensuring that reputable sources such as NHS.UK or GOV.UK are prominent and readily signposted. A paid for campaign to promote uptake of seasonal flu and COVID-19 booster vaccinations for this season is in development, due to launch in early November 2023.

Shingles: Vaccination

Maggie Throup: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to publish data on the uptake of the shingles national immunisation programme for immunocompromised individuals; and what steps he plans to take to monitor the uptake of shingles vaccinations among immunocompromised people.

Maria Caulfield: The UK Health Security Agency collects data on shingles vaccine uptake including immunocompromised individuals. This data collection has been in place since the start of the programme in September 2021. Data will be published subject to quality validation processes.A plan is in place to collect data to monitor the uptake in new cohorts who will be eligible for Shingrix from 1 September 2023, with the intention to publish this data in February 2024.

NHS: Consultants

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what due diligence his Department conducts on organisations that undertake consultancy work in the NHS.

Will Quince: There are spending controls in place that requires consultancy expenditure by National Health Service trusts above £50,000 to be approved by NHS England regional panels.All NHS England consultancy business cases that are above the delegated approval thresholds of £100,000 and/or greater than six months in length are submitted to the Department’s Commercial Assurance team. The team applies the principles of the Cabinet Office consultancy playbook, including a value for money assessment which is available at the following link:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1103954/The_Consultancy_Playbook_Version_1.1_September_2022.pdfIf all tests are met the cases are then referred for Ministerial approval.

Respiratory Syncytial Virus: Disease Control

Maggie Throup: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to mitigate the potential impact of respiratory syncytial virus infections in winter 2023/24.

Maria Caulfield: There is currently an existing, targeted immunisation programme in place to protect infants at high risk of complications if infected by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).To support the effective management of infection levels, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) will monitor weekly levels of RSV and bronchiolitis, a condition associated with RSV in young children. UKHSA also leads public health messaging on social, national, and regional media, highlighting the signs and symptoms of RSV and the steps which can be taken to reduce infections, including reducing risks to babies.

Respiratory Syncytial Virus: Vaccination

Maggie Throup: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of an Respiratory Syncytial Virus immunisation programme on NHS capacity in winter 2023.

Maria Caulfield: Policy options based on the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation’s advice on a potentially expanded vaccination programme for respiratory syncytial virus are currently being developed by the Department, working with the UK Health Security Agency and NHS England.

Dentistry: Recruitment

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to (a) recruit dentists from (i) overseas and (ii) the UK and (b) to encourage dentists back into NHS work.

Neil O'Brien: The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, which was published on 30 June 2023, sets out the steps the National Health Service and its partners need to take to deliver a workforce for the NHS that meets the changing needs of the population over the next 5, 10 and 15 years. These include a 40% increase to dentistry undergraduate training places by 2031/32. To support this ambition, we will expand places by 24% by 2028/29, taking the overall number that year to 1,000 places.We have recently taken steps to streamline registration of overseas-trained dentists, including legislation to enable the General Dental Council to improve its international registration processes, and streamlining the process for overseas dentists to join the Dental Performers List and start working in the NHS.Furthermore, we are currently working on a plan for dentistry, to be published shortly, to improve access to dental care across England. Our plan will build upon the package of reforms agreed in July 2022 and will address making NHS work more attractive to ensure dentists are incentivised to deliver more NHS care.

NHS Trusts: Standards

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of twinning NHS trusts that require improved leadership and governance with outstanding leadership teams in the NHS.

Helen Whately: For the most challenged trusts and Integrated Care Boards that are in segment 4 of the NHS Oversight Framework, NHS England provides mandated support via its Recovery Support Programme (RSP). More information on the RSP is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/system-and-organisational-oversight/national-recovery-support-programme/This support is led by an experienced improvement director who can draw upon an expert multi-disciplinary team and has access to a range of improvement resources. In some cases, there is leadership support from other National Health Service bodies that have proven expertise.The RSP was introduced in July 2021. The National Institute of Healthcare Research has been commissioned by the Department and NHS England to conduct a rapid review into the effectiveness of elements of the RSP.NHS England has also published guidance encouraging the use of peer reviewers in developmental reviews of leadership and governance.

Health Services: Migrants

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the increase in the Immigration Health Surcharge on the number of migrants with (a) acute and (b) chronic health issues who will seek NHS treatment.

Will Quince: Regulations will be laid in Autumn 2023 to amend the Immigration (Heath Charge) Order 2015 to increase the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) and a full economic impact assessment will be prepared.

NHS: Migrant Workers

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of the number of new EU workers the NHS will need to meet its recruitment targets in each of the next five years.

Will Quince: Information on the planned recruitment of workers from the European Union over the next five years is not held centrally.The recently published NHS Long Term Workforce Plan states that we will reduce reliance on international recruitment and agency staff. In 15 years’ time, we expect annually approximately 9-10.5% of new joiners to the workforce to be recruited from overseas, compared to nearly a quarter now.

Health Services: Payments

Tommy Sheppard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to launch a consultation on the disclosure of industry payments to the healthcare sector.

Will Quince: The Department is developing a UK-wide public consultation on the disclosure of industry payments to the healthcare sector. The consultation will seek views on the possible introduction of regulations through new secondary legislation, as well as views on alternative options to regulations. We anticipate this will launch by autumn 2023.

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has provided guidance to NICE on the evidence used to inform the criteria updates to its Highly Specialised Technology processes.

Will Quince: The Department has not issued any such guidance. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is an independent body and is responsible for the methods and processes that it uses in the development of its guidance, including the criteria used to determine whether topics should be routed to the technology appraisal or highly specialised technologies programmes. NICE made changes to its health technology evaluation manual in January 2022 following a comprehensive review of its methods and processes, including public consultation. As part of these changes, the eligibility criteria for the highly specialised technologies programme were clarified to make them clearer and more predictable.

NHS: Migrant Workers

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the most important factors for the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of NHS staff from EU countries.

Will Quince: No assessment has been made of the most important factors for the recruitment and retention of National Health Service staff from countries in the European Union.The recently published NHS Long Term Workforce Plan states that we will reduce reliance on international recruitment and agency staff. In 15 years’ time, we expect annually approximately 9-10.5% of new joiners to the workforce to be recruited from overseas, compared to nearly a quarter now.

Dental Services

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of the number of (a) adults and (b) children who have had teeth extracted in the NHS over the last 12 months in (i) England and (ii) York.

Neil O'Brien: The information requested in respect of York is not held centrally. The following tables summarise the number of adults and children who underwent teeth extractions in the National Health Service in England over the last 12 months. Children in the NHS dental statistics are defined as aged 0 to 18 years, whilst the publication that focuses on child tooth extractions via Hospital Episode Statistics data defines children as aged 0 to 19 years. Total number of tooth extractions in adults in a primary setting:YearEngland2021-222,562,155Source: NHS Dental Statistics for England, 2021-22, Annual Report (NHS Digital) Total number of tooth extractions in children in a primary setting:YearEngland2021-22443,484Source: NHS Dental Statistics for England, 2021-22, Annual Report (NHS Digital) Number of tooth extractions of children aged 0 to 19 years in a hospital setting:YearEngland2021-2241,875Source: Hospital tooth extractions in 0 to 19 year olds: 2022 (GOV.UK) Proportion of tooth extractions of children aged 0 to 19 years in a hospital setting that were caused by decay:YearEngland2021-2263%Source: Hospital tooth extractions in 0 to 19 year olds: 2022 (GOV.UK) Number of tooth extractions for people aged 20 years or older in a hospital setting:YearEngland2021-2274,467Source: Hospital Admitted Patient Care Activity, 2021-22 (GOV.UK)

Dental Services

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he is taking steps to increase the number of dentists working in (a) York and (b) areas with fewer NHS dentists.

Neil O'Brien: From 1 April 2023 the commissioning responsibility for commissioning primary care dentistry to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to integrated care boards across England.We acknowledge that there are areas of the country that are experiencing recruitment and retention issues and are taking steps to address the National Health Service dental workforce challenges across the country.The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, published on 30 June, sets out the steps the NHS and its partners need to take to deliver an NHS workforce that meets the changing needs of the population over the next 15 years. These include a 40% increase to dentistry undergraduate training places by 2031/32. To support this ambition, we will expand places by 24% by 2028/29, taking the overall number that year to 1,000 places.Furthermore, our plan for dentistry will be published shortly to build upon a package of improvements to the NHS dental system announced in July 2022, including to improve access to NHS dental services.

Dental Health: Children

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he is taking steps with Cabinet colleagues to provide education on toothbrushing in schools.

Neil O'Brien: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 14 June 2023 to Question 188598.

Streptococcus: Screening

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 20 December to Question 102798 on Streptococcus: Screening, whether he expects the Group B Strep trial to report before the end of 2024.

Will Quince: The clinical and cost-effectiveness of testing for Group B Streptococcus: a cluster randomised trial with economic and acceptability evaluations (GBS3) trial is currently still recruiting participants. We expect these findings, as with all research funded via the National Institute for Health and Care Research, to be published following a full analysis of the trial data.

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many alcohol-related hospitalisations there were in each local authority in Greater Manchester in the last 12 months.

Neil O'Brien: The data requested is not yet available. Data on alcohol-related hospitalisations by local authority for 2022/23 is due to be published in February 2024.The latest available year of data is 2021/22 and is available at the following link:https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile/local-alcohol-profiles

Endometriosis

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of when updated NICE guidelines for endometriosis will be published.

Maria Caulfield: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is currently updating its guideline on endometriosis, which will update its recommendations on diagnosing endometriosis and surgical management if fertility is a priority. NICE expects to publish draft guidance on 31 October 2023. The recommendations will be subject to public consultation until 13 November 2023 with final guidance expected on 19 December 2023.

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that NICE’s Topic Selection Oversight Panel considers (a) clinical and (b) patient expert insights in its decision-making processes.

Will Quince: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is an independent body and is responsible for the decision-making processes that it operates.NICE’s Topic Selection Oversight Panel (TSOP) is responsible for the selection of topics for guidance development in the Centre for Health Technology Evaluation. The group considers the available evidence as well as clinical and patient insights to apply the medicines and highly specialised technologies criteria and decide whether to route medicines to the technology appraisal or highly specialised technologies programmes, or to deselect the topic. The TSOP’s membership includes lay members to provide the perspective of patients, people who use services and carers in the selection and routing of topics. It also includes members with responsibility for providing clinical insights and expertise.

Clinical Trials: Applications

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average time taken by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency was to respond to a clinical trials application in the last 12 months for which information is available; and how many and what proportion of those applications have been responded to within 30 days in that period.

Will Quince: From July 2022 to June 2023, 587 clinical trial authorisation applications were assessed by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency in an average of 65.43 days. Out of the 587 applications, 100 of those, or 17.04%, were assessed within 30 days.

Dementia

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies on dementia of the PROTECT study.

Will Quince: While no specific assessment has been made of the PROTECT study, we welcome research that will help us to understand how brain functioning changes as we age and that could lead to further research to prevent conditions such as dementia.We have committed to double funding for dementia research to £160 million per year by 2024/25. This will span all areas of research from causes and prevention to treatment and care, delivering evidence to help prevent, diagnose, and treat dementia, enabling the best possible care and quality of life for people with dementia.

Department of Health and Social Care: Contracts

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 19 July 2023 to Question 193672 on Department of Health and Social Care: Contracts, what systems are in place for Ministers to track spending on (a) all contracts and (b) contracts where problems are encountered.

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer to Question 193672 on Department of Health and Social Care: Contracts, if he will seek advice from (a) the National Audit Office and (b) other external bodies on improving the financial monitoring of contracts entered into by his Department.

Will Quince: A post award assessment is made on the risks to contract delivery and each contract is given a classification which determines the nature and intensity of the contract management support from officials at the department. The Departments contract management operating model includes tools such as a contract management plan, balanced scorecard, risk register and issues log, business continuity plans and exit plans. Scorecards are produced which provide a balanced view of performance, risks and issues, finances and spending, which inform an overall risk profile and which can be provided to Ministers on request.Contract performance for high-risk contracts is reported to the Department’s Performance and Risk Committee as well as to Permanent Secretaries ahead of the bi-annual accountability meetings they hold with Directors. Whilst there isn’t systematic reporting to Ministers across all contracts, Ministers have been provided with ad-hoc reporting on expenditure and savings options against certain categories of contracts (consultancy and professional services for example).The Department has introduced a system to attach contract references to all new individual purchase orders raised in the payment system from June 2021 where associated to a contract. The project is due to be completed within the next 12 months which will enable the central collation and validation of spend against the Department’s full portfolio of contracts.The Department operates its commercial activities in accordance with the good practice set out by the Government Commercial Function, and our approach has been reviewed by both the National Audit Office and Government Internal Audit Agency.

WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control

Mark Jenkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with the World Health Organisation on the UK's position on the tenth Conference of the Parties of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

Mark Jenkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he supports greater inclusion of stakeholders at the Conference of the Parties of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

Neil O'Brien: The Government has not held discussions with the World Health Organisation regarding the United Kingdom’s position on the conference in question. All papers, decisions made at the conference, and attendance lists are available at the following link: https://fctc.who.int/who-fctc/governance/conference-of-the-parties/tenth-session-of-the-conference-of-the-parties Observers can apply to attend the proceedings.

Continuing Care

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his Department's National Framework for NHS Continuing Healthcare and NHS-funded Nursing Care, revised in July 2022, whether integrated care boards that do not comply with that framework can be sanctioned.

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the rates of compliance with the National Framework for NHS Continuing Healthcare and NHS funded Nursing Care by Integrated Care Boards.

Helen Whately: The Department is responsible for NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC) policy, legislation and guidance on the National Framework for NHS Continuing Healthcare and NHS-funded Nursing Care.This guidance sets out clear processes for CHC assessment that all integrated care boards (ICBs) must follow. Operational delivery of CHC is the responsibility of ICBs with oversight from NHS England.As set out in the National Health Service Commissioning Board and Clinical Commissioning Groups (Responsibilities and Standing Rules) Regulations 2012, ICBs must have regard to the National Framework.Although there are no sanctions in place for ICBs that do not comply with the National Framework, NHS England has powers under the National Health Service Act 2006, as amended by the Health and Care Act 2022, to direct ICBs when it has duly identified that (a) an ICB is failing, or (b) is at risk of failing, to discharge its functions.NHS England has an assurance regime in place to ensure that individuals are assessed for CHC in a timely manner and that these assessments are undertaken at the right time and in the right place. This ensures an accurate assessment, equal access, standardisation, and consistency within CHC.Data on NHS Continuing Healthcare, including ICB delivery of NHS CHC assurance standards, is published quarterly and available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/nhs-chc-fnc/

Essex Mental Health Independent Inquiry: Public Appointments

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to appoint a new chair for the Essex Mental Health Independent Inquiry.

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had recent meetings with the families of patients from the Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust.

Maria Caulfield: The Government is determined to appoint a new Chair for the Essex Mental Health Independent Inquiry as soon as possible. Work to appoint a new chair is currently in progress, and Parliament will be updated on the progress of setting up the inquiry in due course.No recent meetings have been held with the families of patients from the Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust, however, the Inquiry team continues to liaise with the families.

Anaemia: Bowel Cancer

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for NHS (a) testing and (b) screening protocols of the potential link between (i) iron anaemia and (ii) colorectal cancer.

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of faecal immunochemical tests in diagnosing cancer in under-50s in England; and what assessment he has made of levels of adherence to NICE guidelines on the use of those tests.

Will Quince: No assessment has been made on the link between iron anaemia and colorectal cancer for national screening purposes. Colorectal cancer is more common in people over the age of 50, but it can affect people of any age. To identify patients who have symptoms that do not align to a particular type of tumour, including for non-specific symptoms of colorectal cancer, the National Health Service has implemented ‘non-specific symptom pathways’. There are 103 pathways currently in place with the aim to have national coverage by March 2024.To encourage people to see their general practitioner if they notice symptoms that could be cancer, NHS England runs the ‘Help Us, Help You’ campaigns, which address the barriers that deter patients from accessing the NHS.

Bowel Cancer: Young People

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his Department's policies of increases in the diagnosis of colorectal cancer and BRAF mutation among younger people in (a) England and (b) Europe.

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for NHS (a) testing and (b) screening programmes of increases in the diagnosis of colorectal cancer and BRAF mutation in younger people.

Will Quince: No assessment has been made.The UK National Screening committee (UK NSC) has not considered the BRAF mutation as part of the bowel cancer screening programme. However, the UK NSC remains open to any suggestions that could improve screening programmes and these can be submitted through the UK NSC website during their three-month annual call for topics.Improving referral rates are an essential part of delivering our goal to improve cancer survival rates and show that our efforts to encourage people to come forward, including the ‘Help Us Help You’ campaign, are working. For bowel cancer, the campaign urged people to take up the new home testing kit and have extended the screening offer to those aged 50-74 to ensure more people are diagnosed with bowel cancer at the earliest stage.

NHS: Motor Vehicles

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate he has made of when the trialling of hydrogenated vegetable oil as a fuel source for NHS vehicles will be completed.

Will Quince: Unipart Logistics completed a trial of HVO (Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil) on four vehicles for a period of 40 days across February and March 2023. Whilst this found a major reduction of 90% in carbon dioxide impact, the trial also found a 62% increase in fuel costs and highlighted the operational challenge of HVO not being available at fuel retailers. The results are currently being considered.The National Health Service is committed to reducing its reliance on fossil fuels across its estate and will continue to explore new options and innovations.

Laboratories: Leamington Spa

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the cost of closing down cost of the Rosalind Franklin Laboratory in Leamington Spa.

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of unused equipment at the Rosalind Franklin Laboratory in Leamington Spa was repurposed for other uses in the NHS.

Maria Caulfield: The United Kingdom’s polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing network for coronavirus (COVID-19) was scaled down in response to reduced demand and to ensure value for money for taxpayers. From 17 January 2023, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) laboratory network reduced from three labs to two, with the Rosalind Franklin Laboratory ceasing to process PCR tests. The laboratory has been mothballed rather than closed down; hence no closing down costs have been incurred.For as long as the laboratory is mothballed, the equipment is being left in situ to minimise the time required to restart operations if needed. As such, none of the laboratory’s equipment has been repurposed for use by the National Health Service at this stage

Department of Health and Social Care: Contracts

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 19 July 2023 to Question 193672 on Department of Health and Social Care: Contracts, how many contracts worth more than £1 million his Department has entered into where the (a) goods and (b) services contracted for have not been received and are no longer expected to be received in the last 12 months.

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 19 July 2023 to Question 193672 on Department of Health and Social Care: Contracts, what estimate he has made of the cost of providing an answer to that Question.

Will Quince: In relation to Question 193672, there were 405 contracts which were active with a value of over £1 million on the Department’s central procurement and contract management database over the last five years. To provide an answer on whether “the goods and services contracted for have not been received and are no longer expected to be received in the last five years” we would have to consult all the individual contract managers for these contracts to obtain this type of information, which would then have to be properly collated and validated.The contract manager would need to liaise with colleagues in the Department’s Finance directorate to find the relevant purchase orders to link spend to associated contracts and then make an assessment on whether goods and services were no longer expected to be received. We estimate that this would take a minimum of two hours per contract; multiplied by the number of contracts (405) this would total 810 hours. At a cost of £25 per hour this would equate to £20,250, which exceeds the disproportionate cost threshold of £850.Presently, the Department has 249 contracts over £1 million which were active in the last 12 months. In a similar fashion to the above, the information requested for these contracts regarding goods and services not being received or not expected to be received is not held centrally and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Streptococcus

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking raise awareness of Group B Strep in July 2023, as part of Group B Strep International Awareness Month.

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the awareness of Group B Strep.

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve the awareness of Group B Strep in (a) Enfield North constituency, (b) London and (c) England.

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with NHS England on doctors and midwifes informing families of Group B Strep.

Maria Caulfield: Midwives are a key source of information for new and expectant parents on Group B Strep (GBS), so it is critical that they are well-informed, and this awareness will help eliminate these serious, yet often avoidable, infections in new-born babies.NHS England published a revised Core Competency Framework in May 2023; it covers the mandated training for all maternity services which now includes GBS. Undertaking this training will increase awareness and understanding of GBS, enabling midwives and doctors to be better informed when speaking to families about the risk of GBS in labour. The Core Competency Framework is incentivised through the maternity incentive scheme administrated by NHS Resolution.The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) has an evidence-based i-learn module on GBS that is freely available to RCM members. It would be beneficial for as many midwives as possible to take the training to increase awareness of GBS.Screening for GBS is not routinely offered to all pregnant women in the United Kingdom. However, if it is detected during pregnancy through routine testing, it will be managed in accordance with Trust protocol and information leaflets will be provided on treatment and any associated risks. GBS testing is usually only offered to women who have had GBS in a previous pregnancy, in which case, testing will be carried out by the Trust providing care.The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities and NHS England continue to work with system partners across England on the Group B Strep trial, which is currently underway as a multi-centre randomised controlled trial with 71 hospital sites included. It is looking at whether routine testing of women for GBS, either in late pregnancy or during labour, reduces the occurrence of early-onset neonatal sepsis, compared to the current risk factor-based strategy.

NHS Trusts: Consultants

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the amount spent by NHS trusts and NHS foundation trusts on hiring consultancies to conduct well-led reviews.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to monitor consultants conducting well-led reviews.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of tasking officials in his Department with conducting well-led reviews.

Will Quince: NHS England and the Department do not require or routinely collect information from National Health Service trusts and foundation trusts (also known as NHS providers) on the amount spent on developmental reviews of leadership and governance.In September 2017 NHS England published guidance to help NHS providers to get the most out of development reviews including approaches to their procurement. NHS England has regular and ongoing discussions with NHS providers on a range of matters, including the learning from and value of developmental reviews of leadership and governance.No assessment has been made of the potential merits of tasking officials in the Department with conducting development reviews. NHS England guidance, published in June 2017, highlights the importance of independent input into reviews and that in-depth, regular, and externally facilitated developmental reviews of leadership and governance are good practice across all industries.

Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme

Mick Whitley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how long the average claim to the Vaccine Damages Payment Scheme takes to be (a) investigated and (b) processed.

Maggie Throup: The average claim under the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme is investigated and processed in approximately six months from the date of receipt. Medical assessments for each claim commence once the NHS Business Services Authority receives full medical records from a claimant’s general practitioner, medical providers, local authorities and other relevant healthcare providers. Once sufficient evidence is gathered, claims are assessed by an independent and experienced medical adviser. The NHS Business Services Authority provides updates on progress to the individual claimant.

Ministry of Defence

Military Bases: Armed Forces and Staff

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate his Department has made of the proportion of (a) civilian and (b) military personnel based at his Department’s sites in the UK in (i) 2022-23, (ii) 2023-24 and (iii) 2024-25.

Dr Andrew Murrison: All regional statistics for UK Regular Forces and MOD Civilian personnel are published on gov.uk at the following links.As at 1 April 2022:www.gov.uk/government/statistics/location-statistics-for-uk-regular-armed-forces-and-civilians-2022As at 1 April 2023:www.gov.uk/government/statistics/location-statistics-for-uk-regular-armed-forces-and-civilians-2023The attached supporting tables detail the percentage of Civilian and UK Regular Forces personnel stationed in the UK by region as at 1 April 2022 and 1 April 2023.Forecasts for the proportion of civilian and military personnel by location are not available. Following the publication of the Defence Command Paper, work is underway to refresh strategic workforce plans and to establish an Indicative Planned Strength (IPS), however there are no plans for IPS to detail future strength by Location.Supporting Table (xlsx, 31.7KB)

Armed Forces: Career Development

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to Defence’s response to a more contested and volatile world, published on 18 July 2023, CP 901, what assessment his Department has made of the number of personnel who will follow a zig-zag career path in the Armed Forces.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The Ministry of Defence acknowledges the shifting dynamics of career paths and the significance of adaptability in the management of our personnel. While we have made no formal assessment of the numbers of personnel who will follow a "zig-zag" career path, in designing our Pan Defence Skills Framework, MOD officials have extensively reviewed several external studies concerning future career trajectories. These studies underscore the transition from traditional linear careers to multifaceted, boundary-spanning career paths and highlight the practical application of flexible career trajectories.

Challenger Tanks

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Challenger tanks his Department plans to upgrade to Challenger 3.

James Cartlidge: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave on 25 July 2023 to Question 194580 to my hon. Friend the Member for Ipswich (Tom Hunt).Question 194580 (docx, 18.0KB)

Armed Forces: Housing

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many boilers over ten years old in Service Family Accommodation have failed at least three times in the last twelve months; and how many and what proportion of those boilers have been replaced in that period.

James Cartlidge: 1,812 boilers in Service Family Accommodation have been replaced since April 2022. This figure includes the replacement of boilers over 10 years old however, this figure cannot be broken down by boiler age, as this data is not held by the contractor.

Armed Forces: Surveys

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions his Department has had with (a) the Defence Infrastructure Organisation, (b) Pinnacle Group, (c) Amey and (d) VIVO since the publication of the Armed Forces Continuous Attitude Survey Results; and if he will publish a summary of those discussions.

James Cartlidge: The Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) is part of the Department. DIO has discussed the Armed Forces Continuous Attitude Survey (AFCAS) results with Pinnacle, Amey and VIVO. The Department's focus on addressing the root causes of dissatisfaction with the maintenance of Service Family Accommodation began before the AFCAS Survey Questionnaire was distributed to Service Personnel. By the time results were published on 1 June 2023, performance had improved.A summary of discussions the Department has had with suppliers regarding performance since the publication of AFCAS cannot be provided, as disclosure would prejudice commercial interests.

Armed Forces: Housing

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will define the term satisfactory standard in relation to accommodation for Armed Forces personnel and their families.

James Cartlidge: The Department considers the Decent Homes (DH) Standard to be the minimum satisfactory standard for Service Family Accommodation. This is a technical standard for public housing, defined by the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, and is the minimum satisfactory standard for allocation of a home to a Service family. If a home falls below the DH Standard while a family is in residence, the Defence Infrastructure Organistion will take measures to restore it to at least the DH Standard.

Clyde Naval Base and Devonport Dockyard

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to Defence’s response to a more contested and volatile world, published on 18 July 2023, CP 901, how much his Department plans to invest in dry docks and ship lifts at (a) Faslane and (b) Devonport; and over what period.

James Cartlidge: The overall figure for investment in the infrastructure at His Majesty’s Naval Base (HMNB) Clyde and HMNB Devonport is commercially sensitive as the work is subject to contractual negotiation.

Defence: Procurement

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Defence Command Paper Refresh, published on 18 July 2023, how much of the £2.5bn commitment to replenishing UK stockpiles over ten years his Department plans to spend each year.

James Cartlidge: The specific allocation of the £2.5 billiuon of additional funding over the next ten years is still being finalised.

Army

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to Defence’s response to a more contested and volatile world, published on 18 July 2023, CP 901, whether it remains his policy to field a modern warfighting division by 2030.

James Heappey: Yes. I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 4 July 2023, tom Question 191023.

Armed Forces: Housing

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment his Department has made with the Defence Infrastructure Organisation of the adequacy of the performance of (a) Pinnacle Group, (b) Amey and (c) VIVO in meeting their contractual obligations to provide accommodation for armed forces personnel and their families to a satisfactory standard.

James Cartlidge: Since Rectification Plans were implemented in September 2022, performance has improved for both VIVO and Amey in the key areas of response maintenance timeframes and reducing the backlog of maintenance tasks. However, there is still more work to do before both are consistently at the Acceptable Level of Performance (ALP) across the board, particularly in respect of preparation of homes for Move-in performance.Pinnacle are now consistently delivering at or above the minimum ALP in all areas where they have sole responsibility for delivery and are no longer in rectification.The Department has set out an expectation that suppliers must demonstrate they can sustain performance at or above the ALP before the Rectification Plans will be considered to have succeeded. The Department has made it very clear that there is still more to achieve before service families are receiving the level of service that they deserve.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Remote Working

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what their Departments policy is on Civil Servants in their Department working from home and receiving the London Weighting Allowance.

Sir John Whittingdale: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) does not have a London weighting allowance. DCMS Civil Servants are placed on either a London or National pay scale which is determined by their contracted working location. Staff who are contracted to work from our London office are placed on a London payscale. In common with the vast majority of employers DCMS has adopted hybrid working and requires staff to work from their contracted office an average of two days per week.

Holiday Accommodation: Licensing

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when she plans to publish the response to her Department's consultation on a registration scheme for short-term lets in England.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of local authorities introducing voluntary short term holiday let registration schemes.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on potential undeclared tax from the Short Term Holiday Let industry.

Sir John Whittingdale: Following last year's Call for Evidence, in December 2022 the government introduced a registration scheme for short-term lets in England in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill. On 12 April 2023, a consultation was published which sought views on details about how the scheme will operate. The consultation closed on 7 June 2023 and the government is working to analyse responses.The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is working with relevant government departments, including HMRC and HM Treasury, on the design of the registration scheme for short-term lets to ensure that different measures which apply to short-term lets are proportionate, complementary and easy to understand.

Holiday Accommodation

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an estimate of the number of short term holiday lets operating in (a) 2023, (b) 2022 and (c) 2021.

Sir John Whittingdale: In 2022, the government held a Call for Evidence on developing a tourist accommodation registration scheme in England, with one of the aims being to better understand the size of the short-term lets market.The results of the Call for Evidence, published in April 2023, highlighted that there is no single, definitive source of data on short-term lets in England. Based on the analysis of responses to the call for evidence, there were approximately 257,000 short-term and holiday letting listings in England in 2022. Since the Call for Evidence, the government has consulted on the design and implementation of a registration scheme for short term lets, which will improve our understanding of the short term letting market.

Electronic Cigarettes: Children

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department is taking steps to ban vaping brands from promoting their products through (a) sponsorship and (b) other means to children.

Sir John Whittingdale: I refer the Honourable Member to the answer I gave on 18 July 2023 to Question 193917.

Northern Ireland Office

Relationships and Sex Education: Northern Ireland

Carla Lockhart: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether his Department plans to conduct a public consultation of (a) parents and (b) other stakeholders on Relationships and Sex Education before guidance in this area is implemented in Northern Ireland.

Chris Heaton-Harris: In line with my Department’s statutory obligations under section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998, and in consultation with the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland, my Department completed an equality screening, the outcome of which did not indicate a need to publicly consult on the policy. Consultation with parents on Relationships and Sex Education is already common practice in Northern Ireland. The Department of Education requires each school to have in place its own written policy on how it will address the delivery of Relationships and Sex Education. A school’s Relationships and Sex Education policy should be subject to consultation with parents and endorsed by a school’s Board of Governors.

Relationships and Sex Education: Northern Ireland

Carla Lockhart: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether a parent in Northern Ireland can excuse their child from Relationships and Sex Education,.

Chris Heaton-Harris: The Relationships and Sexuality Education (Northern Ireland) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 place a duty on the Department of Education to introduce regulations to ensure that a pupil may be withdrawn from education on sexual and reproductive health and rights or elements of that education, at the request of a parent. This follows the approach taken in England and Scotland.

Treasury

Cryptocurrencies: Regulation

Alun Cairns: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment has he made of the adequacy of the capacity of the Financial Conduct Authority to regulate cryptocurrencies.

Andrew Griffith: The government is proposing an approach to cryptoasset regulation under which firm requirements are designed and implemented by the independent regulators to ensure an agile regime able to respond to developments in the sector. The recent Financial Services and Markets Act included powers to bring stablecoins and cryptoasset activities within the FCA regulatory perimeter. The FCA completed its Transformation Programme in March 2023 seeking to make the FCA a more innovative, assertive and adaptive regulator. It involved significant investment in the FCA’s systems and capabilities to enable better use of data and intelligence to regulate 50,000 firms effectively and efficiently. Further information on the delivery of the Transformation Programme is contained in the FCA Annual Report 2022-2023 The Government will continue to regularly discuss delivery of the Transformation Programme with the FCA to monitor progress.

Stamp Duty Reserve Tax: Exemptions

Alun Cairns: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he plans for the investigation by officials into an update to Growth Market Exemption legislation to conclude.

Andrew Griffith: The Government keeps all taxes under review. As part of that, officials are exploring the case for reform in this area.

Tobacco: Smuggling

Mark Jenkinson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many of the parties to the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco that were obliged to introduce a tobacco track and trace system by 2023 have complied with that obligation.

Gareth Davies: HMRC does not collect or retain this information. However, the World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention for Tobacco Control (FCTC) secretariat provides information about the implementation and progress of the WHO FCTC on their dedicated website. The latest Global Progress report on implementation of the Protocol can be found here. We understand the WHO are currently preparing the 2023 version which will be published in due course.

Renewable Fuels: Excise Duties

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of reducing fuel duty on hydrotreated vegetable oil fuel.

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to update the Hydrocarbon Oil Duty Act 1979 to categorise hydrotreated vegetable oil as a biodiesel.

Gareth Davies: Hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) is treated as diesel for the purposes of fuel duty. HVO benefits from the rebated duty rate of 10.18 pence per litre (ppl) when used for an allowed purpose, and 52.95 ppl for road use. The Government encourages the use of HVO through the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO), which incentivises the use of low carbon fuels and reduces emissions from fuel supplied for use in transport and non-road mobile machinery. The RTFO has been highly successful in supporting a market for renewable fuel since its introduction in 2008. Renewable fuels supplied under the RTFO currently contribute a third of the savings required for the UK’s transport carbon budget. The Government’s Biomass Strategy which was published on 10 August reviews the amount of sustainable biomass available to the UK, including liquid biofuels such as HVO. It is important to ensure that biomass is prioritised within the economy where it offers the greatest opportunity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in ‘hard to abate’ sectors where there are fewer options to decarbonise through alternative low carbon technologies. As with all taxes, the Government keeps the tax treatment of HVO under review.

Tom Scholar

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the total cost was to the public purse of dismissing Sir Tom Scholar as permanent secretary at the Treasury; and if he will provide a breakdown of those costs.

Gareth Davies: The information on HM Treasury Senior management remuneration is published in HM Treasury Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23. This can be found using the below link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1170987/HMT_ARA_2022-23.pdf

Pay

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the comments by the Governor of the Bank of England on pay restraint made in February 2023.

John Glen: The Government is committed to the Prime Minister’s pledge to grow the economy and halve inflation. We remain steadfast in our support for the Bank of England’s independent Monetary Policy Committee. Pay for most frontline workforces is set by the independent Pay Review Body (PRB) process. On 13 July, the Government confirmed that it would be accepting the headline pay recommendations of the PRBs in full. Government borrowing to pay for things, such as public sector pay, boosts demand and in turn can increase inflationary pressure. That is why these pay uplifts will not be funded through any new borrowing.

Childcare: Tax Allowances

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much his Department (a) budgeted for and (b) spent on tax-free childcare in the financial year 2022-23.

John Glen: This statistic, and other statistics on Tax-Free Childcare spending, can be found online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/tax-free-childcare-quarterly-statistics

Public Sector: Pay

Beth Winter: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to set public sector pay at the real terms value of that pay in January 2020.

Beth Winter: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to peg future public sector pay growth to at least the rate of inflation.

Beth Winter: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to return public sector pay to the real terms level of 2009-10 over the next five years.

John Glen: Pay for most frontline workforces is set through an independent Pay Review Body process. These independent bodies consider a range of evidence when forming their recommendations, including the need to recruit, retain and motivate suitably able and qualified people; the financial circumstances of government; the Government’s policies for improving public services; and the government’s inflation target. The Government recognises that public sector workers play a vital role in the running of our economy and in delivering world-class public services. That’s why, the Government accepted the headline 2023/24 pay recommendations of the independent Pay Review Bodies (PRBs) in full. For most workforces, accepting these recommendations has delivered the highest pay uplifts for their respective workforce in three decades.

Public Services: Car Allowances

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment the Government has made of the potential impact of levels of HMRC mileage and fuel rates and allowances on frontline public service workers.

Gareth Davies: As with all taxes and allowances, the Government keeps the AMAP rate under review. In considering changes to the AMAP rate, the Government has to balance the responsible management of public finances, which fund our essential public services with support for individuals.

Environment Protection: Industry

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much of the £30 billion of domestic investment for the green industrial revolution announced at the Spending Review 2021 has been allocated as of 18 July 2023; what the planned allocation is in each year; and on what measures funding (a) has been and (b) is planned to be spent.

Gareth Davies: The Government allocated investment in line with the Net Zero Strategy (2021). The planned allocation for this investment by sub-sector and for each year of the Spending Review is provided in Table 2.5 in the Spending Review 2021 document, available at the link below: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/autumn-budget-and-spending-review-2021-documents Departments are responsible for reporting on their expenditure and do so in their Annual Reports and Accounts at the end of the relevant financial year.

Wales Office

Wales Office: Remote Working

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what their Departments policy is on Civil Servants in their Department working from home and receiving the London Weighting Allowance.

David T C Davies: London Weighting was removed as a centrally set allowance for civil servants in 1996 when full pay delegation was introduced across the Civil Service. Pay arrangements, including pay ranges for London based staff in my department, are set by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), who provide employment services for the Wales Office. Flexible working is a fundamental element of the Civil Service employment offer, which is consistent with other sectors. Wales Office staff decide their working arrangements based on business needs and in accordance with the department’s Hybrid Working Policy.

Leader of the House

Houses in Multiple Occupation (Asylum-Seeker Accommodation) (England) Regulations 2023

Matthew Pennycook: To ask the Leader of the House, when the motion to approve the Houses in Multiple Occupation (Asylum Seeker Accommodation) (England) Regulations 2023 will be brought to the floor of the House for a decision.

Penny Mordaunt: The Houses in Multiple Occupation (Asylum Seeker Accommodation) (England) Regulations 2023 were laid by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on 30th March 2023 and debated in Delegated Legislation Committee on the 10th May 2023. All future business will be set out on the Order Paper in the usual way.

Members: Correspondence

Drew Hendry: To ask the Leader of the House, if she will take steps with Cabinet colleagues to require companies regulated by (a) Ofcom and (b) other statutory bodies to respond to correspondence from hon. Members.

Penny Mordaunt: There are no plans to regulate how private companies deal with correspondence through Ofcom or other statutory bodies, as it would not be within their remit.More widely, Arm’s-length Bodies (ALBs) are a vital part of how the Government delivers policies and public services. It is important that they are accountable and transparent. It is a routine courtesy and a right of Parliament that members receive full and timely responses and I encourage Members who get an unsatisfactory response to write to me and I will endeavour to take this up for any Member who does not get a proper response.The Parliamentary Capability Team in the Cabinet Office provides training on managing parliamentary work to civil servants of all departments and grades, including civil servants in ALBs.

Parliament: Costs

Hywel Williams: To ask the Leader of the House, what the (a) total and (b) per Member cost of the House of (i) Lords and (ii) Commons was in the latest period for which data is available.

Penny Mordaunt: This information is not held centrally.The basic annual salary for an MP from 1st April 2023 is £86,584. MPs also receive expenses to cover the costs of running an office, employing staff, having somewhere to live in London or their constituency, and travelling between Parliament and their constituency. The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) which was created in 2009 by the Parliamentary Standards Act, is responsible for setting and regulating MPs’ salaries, pensions, business costs and expenses. IPSA is quite rightly independent of Parliament and the Government. At the end of each financial year, IPSA publishes an annual report and accounts which can be found on IPSA’s website (https://www.theipsa.org.uk/annual-reports).Most members of the House of Lords do not receive a salary for their parliamentary duties but are eligible to receive allowances and, within certain limits, the travel expenses they incur in fulfilling their parliamentary duties. The House of Lords publishes quarterly data on the claims made by Peers which can be found on the Parliament website (https://www.parliament.uk/business/lords/whos-in-the-house-of-lords/house-of-lords-expenses/)